


Ammytale

by commenter



Category: Undertale (Video Game), 大神 | Okami (Video Games)
Genre: Crossover, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Okami - Freeform, undertale - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-01
Updated: 2017-12-06
Packaged: 2018-09-21 10:23:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 34,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9543611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/commenter/pseuds/commenter
Summary: Amaterasu travels under Mount Ebott where her sunlight cannot reach. Upon arriving, Chara awakens and hitches a ride for New Home. Together they traverse through the underground.





	1. Ruins

The sun shone brightly upon Mount Ebott. Its gentle warmth reached down to every spot it could, and one brilliant ray of sunlight touched a bed of golden flowers deep within a cavern hole. A white wolf with brilliant red markings appeared among the flowers. She looked about her surroundings before deciding to start forward.

“Azzy…? Asriel, where are you?”

The wolf turned back around to find the ghost of a child. The child looked down at their body and then frantically clawed at themself, crying out, “My body’s see-through! MY BODY’S SEE-THROUGH!” They collapsed into the flowers and started sobbing.

“I’m dead… I’m dead… Asriel’s dead too… It’s all my fault!”

Sobs ripped out of their throat and faded without even an echo. The wolf slowly approached and lied down next to the ghost, snuggling up close, and hooked a paw over the child’s green sweater. They cried and cried, and the wolf remained by their side in the flowerbed.

When the sky turned red, and the cave turned dark, the sobbing finally stopped. The child sat up and looked over the wolf. “You are not a normal wolf—or even a monster—are you?” they asked. “There's... something different about you. Who are you?”

The wolf barked an answer.

“…Ammy?” They gave a small smile. “My name is Chara. If you plan to keep going, I will go with you. If I am a ghost, my brother Asriel likely is too. He should never be alone.”

Before they could say another word, Ammy swept Chara onto her back and started walking to the next room. Chara gasp and stared down at Ammy in shock.

“…A wolf as my steed. This is kind of neat.”

Ammy walked off into the connecting dark corridor. Shreds of light revealed patches of grass scattered about. The golden flowers from the previous room thinned out until only one remained. Ammy slowed to a halt as the flower turned around and gave her a big smile.

“Howdy!” said the flower. “I’m Flowey the flower!”

Chara couldn't respond. They just stared in disbelief.

“Hmm… You’re new to the underground, aren’t ya?” Flowey bobbed on his stem as he said, “Golly! You must be so confused! Someone must show you how things work around here! I guess little ol’ me will have to do.”

Chara patted Ammy’s back. “This flower seems nice.”

Flowey motioned towards Ammy. “I see your LV is at one. That’s so sad! LV stands for LOVE, you know! You want some LOVE, don’t you? Down here, we gain LOVE by sharing these…” Tiny white magic pellets appeared over Flowey’s head. “…little white friendliness pellets!”

Color drained from Chara’s face. They gripped onto Ammy’s fur. “Those are bullets.”

“Go on! Catch as many as you can!”

“JUMP!”

Ammy hopped over the bullets with ease. Flowey stared at Ammy with a forced smile.

“Hey, buddy,” Flowey said, no longer bobbing about. “You missed ‘em. Why don’t you try again?”

A few more bullets rushed at Ammy, this time a little faster, and she jumped over them again.

Flowey’s smile fell into a scowl. “Are you as dumb as you look?! Run. Into. The. BULLE—friendliness pellets!”

More bullets came, and again she hopped over them.

Flowey’s face twisted into a sneer. “You know what’s going on here, don’t you? You just want to see me suffer.”

Countless bullets surround Ammy in a sphere.

“Die!”

Malicious laughter rang out as the bullets slowly closed in.

Chara whirled around for any sign of escape but none could be found. A shadow in the far end of the corridor caught their eye, but with the bullets in the way, Chara doubted what they saw.

The bullets disappeared when they were mere inches away. Flowey stared in bewilderment and then cried out as fire magic hit him, forcing him to flee. A large figure hurried out of the darkness and to Ammy’s side.

Chara gasped and jumped down from Ammy’s back. “Mom!”

A tall goat woman with a kind smile knelt down, not even realizing Chara rushed up to hug her, and rubbed Ammy’s ears as she cooed, “There, there. What a miserable creature, tormenting an innocent like you.”

Chara’s arms went right through Toriel. They paused for a second. “Mom… Mom! Mom, it’s me! Chara! Can’t you hear me?”

“I am Toriel, caretaker of these ruins.” Toriel stood up and ushered Ammy away. “Come. Let me take you somewhere safe.”

“Mom, you…! MOM!”

Screams ripped from Chara’s throat.

Ammy flinched and watched Chara with sad eyes. She made a low, pitiful whine and nudged Chara’s face with her nose. Toriel glanced over in Ammy’s general direction and frowned in confusion.

Chara kept screaming. They screamed and screamed and screamed as loud as they could. Their screams never echoed and never reached anyone other than Ammy.

Slowly, the screams died into an uneasy silence. Chara refused to meet Ammy’s eyes as they climbed back on the wolf’s back. Finally, Ammy followed Toriel into the ruins.

 

 

As Toriel guided Ammy, she only stopped to clear a puzzle or to scratch behind Ammy’s ears. The wolf practically glowed from the affection she received. Smaller monsters—small enough for Ammy to carry with her mouth—stayed clear of their path. After noting how the monsters’ eyes watched Ammy warily, Toriel asked, “Do you know how to defend yourself?”

Ammy nodded.

“That is good. It seems the monsters living in these ruins find you frightening.”

They continued onward until they came upon a crumbling floor. Chara just sighed while Toriel paused in thought.

“There should be another pa—”

Time froze.

Chara couldn’t move. They couldn’t look away as everything turned into black-and-white ink paintings. An otherworldly ink brush appeared and started scribbling blotches of black ink over the floor cracks.

Time continued, and the cracks completely disappeared.

“—th.” Toriel suddenly stopped as the floor was suddenly repaired. “Hm. Strange. I thought this floor was falling apart.” She shook her head dismissively. “Let’s keep going!”

“WAIT A SECOND!” Chara slapped Ammy’s side. “Did you see that?! What was that? I know it wasn’t just me!”

Ammy kept walking.

“DO NOT IGNORE ME!”

Chara continued berating Ammy, but once they approached a ghost that blocked their path, Ammy ignored the shouting child in favor of Toriel and the new stranger.

Toriel mentioned, “This is the perfect time to practice conflict resolution. Do not worry, for I will remain by your side!”

The ghost sat up from the ground and looked over Toriel and Ammy. “Oh…….” Tears welled up in the ghost’s eyes. “Am I in your way? I’m sorry……..”

Ammy tried approaching, but the ghost already faded away.

Toriel glanced away sheepishly. “Oh dear…. I hope they will be fine,” she said.

She lead Ammy on, but the wolf stopped before a flier pinned to the wall. Before she could turn around and call out, Ammy already dashed back for a side room.

Spider webs covered the walls of this side room. Chara recoiled from the sight of them. “Let’s go back to Mom,” they said. Ammy, however, glanced at the listed prices for baked goods.

“The sign says ‘From Spiders, For Spiders, By Spiders’. Those donuts are made of spiders. Are you okay with eating actual spiders? What are you going to pay them with anyway—”

Ammy pulled out a large bag of gold. The spiders stared at her in shock before hundreds of spiders climbed down to collect the bag. They left behind a dozen spider donuts and a large jug of cider—the only items they could give at a moment’s notice. Ammy ate up the donuts quickly and then took the jug, which disappeared when she tucked it next to her.

Chara watched all of that with wide eyes. When they were about to ask one question, they thought of another and then another and another. With so many questions, they couldn’t vocalize a single one.

Toriel had waited for Ammy to return, and once she did, Toriel guided her to a small house sitting into a cavern wall. A large tree, with all of its leaves fallen, stood between them and the house. The tree held Ammy’s attention even as Toriel and she passed it.

“Here we are! Home!” Toriel opened the door.

Time froze again. Ink circled the tree’s branches, and time resumed again. The tree fully bloomed with green leaves.

But the leaves turned red and immediately fell.

Ammy whined pitifully.

“Hm?” Toriel looked towards the tree. “Oh. Do not mind that tree. No matter how hard it tries, any new leaves instantly die, but it still somehow lives on. Now come in. Let me show you around.”

Ammy looked forlornly at the tree before she and Chara entered Toriel’s home.

The small house was warm with light-colored wood and stone, and the furniture seemed smooth and soft. Chara dismounted Ammy and glanced around. “This place looks exactly like… home. Home home,” they said with a baffled look.

Toriel moved towards the hallway. Chara followed after her. They both spoke at roughly the same time.

“This is the children’s bedroom. Currently no one else is staying with me.”

“This was Asriel’s and my room.”

“The second room down was to be a guest room, but I need to do some repairs.”

“The second room down is Mom and Dad’s… Wait, that is wrong?”

“The last room is my bedroom.”

“Then the last room is Mom and Dad’s room.”

The two moved across the room towards the other end of the house.

“The stairs go down to the basement. I ask you not to venture down there.”

“The stairs at Home went to the throne room where Azzy and I used to play. Here, it should go to the rest of the Underground.”

Ammy followed them into a room with a fireplace, bookshelf, reading chair, and dinner table. Toriel stopped before the fireplace while Chara lingered around the table.

“This is the family room. The room beyond is the kitchen. I hope you make yourself at home here!” Toriel said to Ammy with a soft smile.

“Asriel and I used to do our homework on a table just like this. I know it is not the same table, though, since I carved my name on the side. For some reason, I did not get into trouble. Mom just told me to use art.” Chara’s fingers lingered on the table for a moment, and then their face fell. Their head lowered as they muttered, “She always loved my drawings.”

Toriel approached Ammy, knelt down to her eye level, and said, “After dinner, I will prepare a place for you. Do you know where you would like to sleep?”

Ammy pointed towards the fireplace.

“…Are you certain? I do have at least one vacant room.”

She moved over to the fireplace and sat right down.

Toriel chuckled. “Very well. Let me prepare dinner. I have not hosted a dog monster in a long time, but I have a recipe you may like.”

When Toriel left for the kitchen, Ammy lied down before the fireplace. A large disk ringed in flames appeared above her momentarily and, with a flick from the flames to the fireplace by that paintbrush, the fireplace lit with a lively flame. Chara lied down on her side and soaked in the positive energy emitting from her.

They said, “I do not even care anymore. I just want to see how Asriel is doing.”

Ammy reached over and nudged Chara’s shoulder with her nose. They refused to respond.

Toriel returned with two slices of pie. She set one slice on the floor before sitting at Ammy’s side. Seeing Toriel eat politely, Ammy took care to leave as little of a mess as possible. After the meal, the two basked in the fire’s warmth.

“Say,” Toriel said as she pulled out a book, “why not a book? It is called 72 Facts About Snails.” She flipped to a random page. “Did you know snails have microscopic teeth called radular teeth? Fascinating, yes? …Here is another. Garden snails hibernate during the winter.”

Time marched on with page after page of snail facts, and Ammy slowly fell asleep. Chara made an effort to ignore Toriel, but they seemed less guarded and tense. When Toriel noticed Ammy sleeping soundly, she chuckled, put away the book, and retrieved a large bundle of blankets and pillows. Once arranged into a nest, she effortlessly moved the large wolf onto the bed. She extinguished the fire and left the room.

Hours passed, and Chara only heard Toriel stir in the house. Once the lights were all put out, once darkness settled in every corner, Chara sighed and stood to their feet. They shook Ammy awake and said to her groggy face, “Asriel and Dad are not here. Let’s leave for New Home.”

Ammy yawned and nodded. She waited for Chara to climb up on her back and then moved into the kitchen where the rest of the pie awaited. The smell of the pie filled the entire room. She couldn’t help but stare at it.

Chara commented, “The size of the pie is too intimidate—”

Ammy took the entire pie and tucked it into whatever pocket dimension stored her money and spider cider.

“…but you take it anyway.”

With that, the two descended down the stairs. Wall-mounted lamps dimly lit the long corridor. When the two turned the only corner, Ammy and Chara found Toriel slowly walking back from the far end, turning out the lamps along the way. She stopped and stared at Ammy in mild surprise, and then she gave a smile.

“Why, hello!” She asked, “What are you doing down here? Did I wake you up?”

Chara lightly kicked Ammy’s side. “Go around her. She will not stop us.”

Ammy pointed past Toriel and gruffed.

Toriel’s smile faltered. “I… I cannot allow that.”

Chara frowned slightly. “…What?”

“I do not know how any monster escaped the war, but however you survived, monsters here would want what you know, no matter how much or little. They… Asgore… will use you for their war against humanity and wipe out all humans. For your sake and the sake of all humans, I cannot let you pass.”

Ammy stood her ground as Toriel blocked the way. They watched each other without moving. Chara glanced between two and muttered to themselves, “Dad wants to…? But…” They shook their head and huffed. “She is not that fast. If you fake her out, you can get around her.”

Ammy sprinted to Toriel’s right but the floor erupted into flames. The wolf yelped and jumped back. Toriel glared beyond the wall of flames before her.

“I cannot let you pass!”

“Just put out her fire with that paintbrush!” Chara yelled.

The paintbrush appeared and drew a loop. A gust of wind blew against Toriel and her fire magic, putting out the flames and causing her to lose her balance. After regaining her footing, a flash of horror came over her face.

“…Dog monsters cannot use wind magic. Only with a human soul can dog monsters use wind magic.” Toriel gazed at the wolf, her shock slowly turning to rage as she said, “You… already have a human soul within you, don’t you? Did Asgore give you one of the souls he stole and send you out for the last he needs? Is that how you—a monster—came down from the surface?”

The flames came roaring back and trapped Ammy within the narrow corridor.

“I will not let Asgore have his war!”

A stream of fire shot out at Ammy. With a leap, she barely dodged with her tail singed. When her paws hit the ground, Toriel shot wave after wave of fire. Even when Ammy’s wind magic blew out the fire before her, there was another wave she had to dodge.

As Ammy jumped and dodged, the fire steadily covered the floor until she was completely boxed in. With the target finally trapped, Toriel took a deep breath and prepared a large magical attack.

Chara’s eyes widened and they smacked at Ammy’s back repeatedly. “The wind isn’t working! Try something else! Now!”

Ammy lowered herself. Chara practically lay on her back, shaking hands clutching fistfuls of her fur. She summoned the brush and drew two vertical lines.

A torrent of rain fell upon them.

The fire hissed into its death. Water pooled at their feet. The heavy rain soaked Toriel and Ammy’s fur thoroughly.

Her concentration was utterly broken, water rendered her fire magic completely useless, and rain fell in the basement corridor despite the sealed ceiling. Toriel could only look up into the rain.

The torrent ended just as suddenly as it began. All Toriel could do was fall to her knees. Ammy watched her in concern.

“…Just leave.”

A short silence followed, and then Ammy’s paws waded through the water with a slow pitter-patter. She and Chara left the drenched room into a snow-laden forest. Darkness hung overhead, and the illuminated crystals at the very roof of the enormous cave were barely visible. The silence was almost deafening, yet neither Chara nor Ammy wanted to break it.

“Wow, she’s absolutely broken!”

Flowey popped out from under the snow. He beamed up at Ammy. “She thinks she failed the human children she adopted! Now the supposed murderer of who knows how many humans will report to the children’s actual murderer and kill more innocent humans! Despite never hurting anyone, your very presence just made things worse!”

Flowey grinned maliciously. “But I know the truth. I know what you are. You’re a god who came down from the heavens to bless these downtrodden people.” He chuckled, “How pretentious! Do you really think The Mighty God of Humans can do anything worthwhile for monsters? Watching you fail will be the best amusement I’ll have in ages!”

With a loud laugh, Flowey retreated back into the ground.


	2. Snowy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The snow likes to say NYEH HEH HEH HEH!

Chara went to investigate the spot Flowey disappeared from while Ammy tried to dry off. They dug their fingers into the snow, but their fingers just phased through. They glanced back at Ammy. The red markings glowed brilliantly in the darkness.

“A god…?” Chara walked over to her. “It is the best explanation for your powers since you only have your own soul. You are not much of a god, though.”

Ammy huffed indignantly at Chara.

“For all the power you have, you do not have any followers in the Kingdom of Monsters. So why are you here?”

No response.

Chara shrugged. “As long as I return home and find Asriel and Dad, I do not care what you do. Let’s continue on. I will walk this time.”

Chara lead the way, only pausing when Ammy tried to shake more water off. The path stretched on and on, and even the trees started blurring into the dark background. A fallen branch caught their eye, but they dismissed it for the path ahead.

The snow shuffled as Ammy picked up the stick.

Chara looked back. With her bright white fur, crimson markings, and even the fiery disk on her back (likely brought out for warmth), she almost looked fearsome. Almost. The giant stick reached out to such absurd lengths, her jaws could barely close.

Ammy held the stick high and puffed out her chest proudly.

Chara almost smiled.

When they reached the end of the path, they came upon a set of wooden bars spaced too far to prevent anything from walking through. Chara went on without an issue. They turned back to Ammy and watched expectantly.

“Well?” they said. “The bars are not spaced that far apart. You will have to leave that stick behind.”

Ammy studied the bars from top to bottom. She trotted back a few feet and dashed at the bars with surprising speed. With a great leap, she cleared the bars. Upon landing, Ammy struck a bold pose with her stick.

Chara gave her the applause she obviously wanted.

Only after a few steps onward, Chara noticed a sentry station. The two approached and stared at what they found.

A snoring skeleton slept soundly on the sentry station. He seemed completely undisturbed by the sound of the snow crunching under Ammy’s footsteps. The blue hoodie kept his skull protected from the light snowfall.

Chara leaned their elbow on the counter. “If I screamed really loudly, they would not even twitch, would they?”

Ammy shook her head at Chara in a definitive, desperate no.

“Don’t do it? I think I will now.”

The child started screaming at the top of their lungs. They screamed at the skeleton before them, screamed into Ammy’s ear, and screamed and screamed and screamed.

Nothing stirred.

Ammy trembled from the pain in her ringing ear. Chara looked over at her and, after a second of thought, lightly pushed at her. She fell into the snow with a firm thump.

The skeleton jerked awake. “who’s…?”

He walked around to Ammy, who remained in the ground. “uh… you okay there? you’re not looking too hot. you’re practically frozen over.”

Ammy whined in pain.

“not sure why your ear would hurt. I didn’t hear anything.” Then he said, “by the way, you seem new here. the name’s sans. i work the sentry station here. my brother, papyrus, works the station just down the way. don’t know why he didn’t see you coming. this area’s restricted.”

The wolf gave a barked response.

Sans gave a nonchalant nod. “don’t worry—my brother and i can show you back to town. just take a map next time you go exploring, ok?”

“SANS!”

“right on time.”

A tall skeleton in white fake breastplate armor and a massive red scarf charged into the area. He looked irritated.

“SANS! IT’S BEEN THREE DAYS AND YOU—” He then noticed Ammy. “HELLO! YOU LOOK A LITTLE STRANGE. HOW DID YOU GET THIS FAR WITHOUT MY NOTICING?”

Sans shrugged. “probably came in from the woods. she said she was hiking.”

“WHAT ARE THOSE RED MARKINGS? ARE THEY MAKE-UP? WHAT’S THAT FIERY THING ON YOUR BACK?”

Sans glanced between Papyrus and Ammy. “she looks like a regular wolf to me. probably related to someone in the royal guard.”

“YOU DON’T SEE THEM?” Papyrus asked with a hint of disappointment.

“nope”

Papyrus turned to the side and scowled in contemplation. “STRANGE…. I THINK I’VE HEARD THIS BEFORE, BUT I CANNOT QUITE REMEMBER.”

“we should get her someplace warm pretty soon. she’s soaking wet.”

Papyrus snapped out of his thoughts and gasped in worry. “OH NO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUTSIDE IN THE COLD LIKE THAT?” Papyrus snatched Ammy up in his arms. “DON’T WORRY, STRANGE WOLF! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL SAVE YOU FROM A FROZEN DEATH!”

With Ammy in his arms, Papyrus ran off nyeh-heh-ing.

Chara ran after the two. “Wait! That’s my ride!”

No matter how hard Chara ran, Papyrus was simply too fast. He disappeared into the distance with Ammy in his arms. Chara stopped to catch their breath before a sentry station but then realized they weren’t tired at all. Perhaps they never would get tired again.

They stood there in the snow and sighed. The walk to Snowdin was going to be a long one without their ride.

“hey doggo”

A yelp sounded from the station, and an anthropomorphic dog stood up. Doggo spat out his finished dog treat and leaned towards Sans, who fidgeted in place. “What’s up, Sans?”

Sans asked, “got any relatives coming in? this wolf got lost in the forest.”

“You mean the wolf Papyrus ran off with just now?”

“that’s the one”

“Don’t recognize them. None of us have relatives coming in.”

Sans glanced over in the direction Papyrus ran off down. “really? i wonder why they came down this way. not even the kids living here get this far.”

“Need me to look into this?”

“nah. i’ll take care of it.”

Then Sans disappeared.

While Chara gasped in shock, Doggo just stared at the same empty spot. His ears twitched, and then he sighed. “I really wish Sans would just stop moving without moving.”

The area went quiet for a second, and then Chara exclaimed, “If he can teleport, how am I supposed to find out where his brother took Ammy?! I was going to follow him!”

The child kicked at the snow and huffed. Even though they were very tempted to try yelling at Doggo, they started walking in a direction vaguely familiar to them, one they travelled only a few times while alive. The trees seemed taller, and the sentry stations were new, but the path to Snowdin was the same. They ignored everything off the beaten path, but a white ball on an area cleared of all snow caught their eye.

“This is….” Chara glanced around and found the hole that served as the goal. Memories flickered in their mind. Asriel always kept the ball close to easily guide it and got a blue flag for his efforts. Chara was a little more studied. For some time, Chara got a purple flag, but then they started always getting a yellow flag. Sometimes the two tried different play styles, but their flags almost always ended up blue and yellow.

They continued on wordlessly.

A more defined path, well-travelled and worn, appeared and the great trees that once towered over Chara were now replaced with new houses. They knew they weren’t in Snowdin yet, or at least Snowdin as they remembered, but offshoot neighborhoods already appeared. Rope lights hung from the roofs, around windows, and on doorframes. Bushes and trees near homes were decorated with colorful tinsel and ribbon. No monster holiday corresponded with these decorations, but a human holiday could.

Chara eyed the decorations with wary confusion.

When a large sign saying “Welcome to Snowdin” appeared in sight, Chara sighed in relief. Perhaps if they hung around the main shop, they would spot Papyrus running errands. No chance of spotting the Constant Smiler when that skeleton could teleport.

The main shop was still the same shop Chara remembered from their life. The shop front gave off a warm light and likely still smelled like cinnamon. Chara grabbed at the doorknob only for their hand to go right through it. They stared at the doorknob for a moment before they grinned.

Chara walked right through the door and into the store.

The store’s interior brought back more memories. This store was the only place where Chara and Asriel could get cinnabuns, and the family that owned the store always chattered with the two kids. The current owner—a rabbit monster with a thick body and calm smile—held a clear resemblance to the owner Chara knew. The same family still ran this humble shop. As Chara approached the counter, they noticed a something engraved just below the countertop right at Chara’s shoulder-level: “Chara Dreemurr”.

Chara knelt down and hovered their hand just before the rough carving. What was very likely years ago, they chipped at the wood with a pocketknife while Asriel sat on the counter with one of the rabbit monster family members. Now, the etching was worn down and edges smoothed over. Other names of countless children that came after Chara followed suit and carved their names in as well, crowding around—though not writing over—Chara’s own name.

An antique doorbell chimed as the door swung open. Before Chara could look, a large red boot shoved right into their body. Chara shook as they stared down at how the boot fazed right into them with no effect, and then they crawled away for some space. “I can’t get used to this…” they mumbled.

“HELLO, MS. HOTOT!”

“Good morning, Papyrus! What do you need today?”

Papyrus answered, “I NEED A BIG BOX OF NOODLES AND A LARGE JAR OF SPAGHETTI SAUCE!”

“Oh! Got company over?”

“YES! A WOLF IS STAYING WITH ME! SHE GOT TOO COLD SO SHE’S STAYING AT MY PLACE! I NEED TO BE A GOOD HOST AND MAKE HER SOMETHING TO EAT!”

“How kind of you! Do you know if she’s related to any of the dogs here?”

“IT DOESN’T SEEM LIKE IT. NONE OF THE ROYAL GUARDS RECOGNIZE HER. PLUS SHE HAS SOME RED MARKINGS ON HER. AND THIS WEIRD MIRROR ON HER BACK!”

“She… definitely does sound like a strange one. Maybe she’s from the capital?”

“MAYBE.”

A small box and a glass jar slid across the counter. Papyrus handed the shopkeeper some coins. As the skeleton started walking out the door, he said, “THANK YOU, MS. HOTOT!”

“See you next time, dear!”

Chara hurried after Papyrus. This time, with no freezing wolf in his arms, Papyrus kept a more reasonable pace. He walked to the opposite end of town and stopped at a two-story wooden house. The light from inside cast a warm glow onto the surrounding snow. Papyrus entered his home and, while the child slipped in behind the skeleton, Chara imagined the gentle warmth washing away the icy frost.

The house itself was a lot smaller than it looked on the outside. Chara counted four rooms in the house: two bedrooms, a cramped kitchen, and a decent-sized living room. The upper level’s “hallway” was what led to the balcony outside. The round window that could have been for an attic actually just let more light into the living room. The living room seemed to be an almost literal living room. The couch was actually a worn-down sofa bed. A small side table held a pile of books and magazines stacked on top of one another. The TV didn’t seem as though it was moved in years. A large side table to the right wall was cleared off save for a pet rock covered in sprinkles. There was also a sock covered in yellow sticky notes next to the TV.

Most interesting, however, was the overflowing pile of blankets on the couch that yipped when Papyrus opened the door.

“THE GREAT PAPYRUS RETURNS WITH INGREDIENTS FOR SUPPER! SIT TIGHT, AMMY, WHILE A MASTER CHEF COOKS!”

Chara approached Ammy with a grin. “Can you even breathe under all that?” they asked.

She whined in response.

“DON’T WORRY, AMMY!” Papyrus called from the kitchen. “I, PAPYRUS, WILL MAKE YOU A FITTING MEAL VERY SOON!”

Chara shook their head in pity. “Poor Ammy. Too bad I cannot touch anything or I might save you from your fate. Might.”

Ammy huffed at them.

A bang from the kitchen made Chara and Ammy jump. Chara rushed to the kitchen and stared in horror as Papyrus cooked. Scrapping and clattering noises rang out, and fire burst from the stovetop. After a minute of furious stirring, Papyrus left the kitchen with a plate of mush and spaghetti sauce. He pulled all the blankets off Ammy and displayed the sauce mixture before her.

Papyrus beamed as he showed off his cooking. “HERE IT IS! THERE’S PLENTY MORE FOR SECONDS TOO!”

“Don’t eat that! You will get sick!” Chara quickly said.

Before Papyrus even moved to set the plate down, Ammy lunged forward and ate the spaghetti in just two bites. Papyrus and Chara watched her lick the remaining sauce off the plate, one in childish glee and the other in pure disgust.

“Do not whine if your stomach hurts later.”

“WOWIE! NOBODY HAS EVER EATEN MY COOKING SO QUICKLY! YOU MUST LOVE MY COOKING, AND, BY EXTENSION, ME!”

Chara turned to the skeleton with pity. “Oh, Papyrus….”

“LET ME GET YOU—WAIT!” Papyrus looked at the clock. “I APOLOGIZE, HONORED GUEST! I HAVE A MEETING WITH UNDYNE! THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL RETURN SHORTLY! UNTIL THEN, PLEASE ENJOY THE REST OF THE SPAGHETTI.”

With that, Papyrus ran out the door.

Chara looked over at Ammy, stared for a moment, and then asked, “Is that thing on your back a mirror? I heard Papyrus say so earlier at the store.”

Ammy turned the stone disk around to reveal a bright mirror face. Just when the mirror pointed at Chara, they snapped their face away. “I do not want to see it. I just wanted to know.”

The mirror returned facedown on Ammy’s back.

“…Let’s go. If Asriel’s grave was not at the Ruins with mine, then it must be at the castle.”

Ammy shook her head.

Chara scowled at her. “…No? Fine. Stay here. I need to find the rest of my family.”

The ghost walked through the door and out of sight. Ammy sighed and, although with some struggle over the doorknob, left through the front door. She sat outside in the snow and waited. After a minute, Chara returned, still irritated, and stopped next to Ammy.

“…I decided that you would be hopelessly lost without me,” they said. “Do what you need to do here, but then we leave.”

Ammy waited until Chara settled on her back before heading off into town.

At the center of Snowdin was an enormous evergreen decorated in the same manner as the rest of the town. Under its branches sat neatly wrapped presents. Ammy approached and sniffed at them.

“The entire town was decorated like this,” Chara said. “It does not match any monster holiday I know of.” Their eyes narrowed. “But it does match a human holiday.”

From around the tree, a bear leaned around to look at Ammy. Seeing her confusion, the bear said, “Awful teens tormented a local monster by decorating its tree-like horns. So we started giving the monster presents to make them feel better. Now it’s a tradition to put presents underneath a decorated tree.”

Chara frowned. “Now that monster has a constant reminder of when a bunch of teenagers harassed them. But if they are fine with this…. Monsters sometimes do not make sense.”

Ammy’s nose bumped into a specific pile of presents. She sniffed at them once more before staring at them in contemplation. Chara dismounted and read the tags on the presents that caught Ammy’s attention.

“…Sans… Sans… Undyne. Lots of ‘Undynes’. Two for Papyrus….” They looked over at Ammy and asked, “Are you leaving presents too?”

The wolf reached back and pulled out three red paper charms. She set each one in different spots in the pile.

“Just what do you have?” Chara asked.

Ammy looked at them and then walked off towards the store without answering.

“What? Are you embarrassed? Do you have…” They gasped dramatically, “Socks?! Scandalous!”

When she entered the store, Ms. Hotot just finished wrapping a package. The rabbit monster spotted Ammy and went, “Oh! You must Papyrus’s guest! Did you have fun?”

Ammy barked.

Ms. Hotot smiled. “Good to hear. Hey, can you do me a huge favor? I need this packaged delivered but my family is busy with the inn next door and I have to watch the shop.” She then pulled out a chew bone. “I’ll give you this if you do this for me!”

Ammy gently took the package. The shopkeeper set the chew bone on the package and sent the wolf off with the address. Following the address led Ammy to a small, cozy home close to a river. She set the package on the door and knocked on the door with her head.

From the other end of the door, a light voice said, “Ahh, what a beautiful knock! Maybe if I don’t answer, I’ll hear it again.”

Ammy huffed impatiently and knocked with her head again.

“Ahh, my patience rewards me!”

She set the package at the foot of the door and left with the chew bone. She took a couple steps before Chara pulled at her tail. When Ammy turned around with a questioning look, Chara pointed towards the river.

A large bipedal wolf struggled to pull an overly large block of ice out of a conveyer belt door. The entire machine was stopped and some other monsters tried chipping away at the ice block.

“Keep chipping!” one monster called out. “It’ll give in eventually!”

Ammy approached with Chara at her side.

The bipedal wolf turned to Ammy. “Cousin! Help us out here! I can’t do my job unless we get this out of the way.”

Chara suggested, “Melting the ice might work.”

Ammy studied the ice for a moment and then stepped on the conveyer belt. She slashed at the ice block with her paintbrush and the entire thing cut clean in half horizontally. With such a clean cut, the monsters more easily pushed the lower half back, and the ice block finally came loose.

The wolf monster snatched Ammy up into a tight hug. “I don’t know what you did, but it worked! Thank you! I can’t give you anything, but if you need a favor, just give me a call!”

When the monster released Ammy from his grip, she gasped for breath and needed a moment to steady herself. She watched the conveyer belt restart and spit out more reasonable large blocks of ice. As soon as Chara got back on her back, the two left.

Chara asked, “So what are your powers? I have seen… one where you fixed things, one that made that tree bloom, the one with fire, one made it rain, and then one that cuts things. Is there more?”

Ammy looked up at Chara, glanced around, and approached some rope light wiring tucked away out of sight. The wires were worn, chewed, and missing some pieces. With a careful paw, she drew the word “Rejuvenation.” Then she brought out her brush and painted in the missing pieces of the wires. The ink disappeared to reveal that the wiring now looked new, as if it were never damaged.

Then she turned to the river with the ice blocks. She wrote “Power Slash” in the snow and cut the entire block in half.

“That looks very useful,” Chara noted. “Show me more when we get to Waterfall.”

Ammy nodded and headed east.

The snow started thinning and revealing the stone underneath. Once the evergreens disappeared, a voice cried out, “WAIT, AMMY!”

The two turned back towards Snowdin and the voice. Papyrus ran out to Ammy with a worried look. He then stopped and, in a flustered tone, said, “UH, I MEAN YOUR GODLINESS. IT WOULD BE A VERY BAD IDEA IF YOU GO TO WATERFALL. I TOLD MY FRIEND UNDYNE ABOUT YOU AND SHE FIGURED OUT WHO YOU ARE. SHE DOESN’T LIKE YOU SINCE YOU ARE… WELL, A HUMAN GOD. HER OPINION OF YOU IS A BIT… MURDERY.”

His confidence returned. “SO FOR YOUR SAFETY, THE GREAT PAPYRUS MUST NOT LET YOU PASS!”

A wall of bones shot up, blocking the way to Waterfall. Ammy cut them down with ease and dashed onward.

Suddenly, Ammy started falling backwards. Chara fell off the wolf’s back as Ammy fell right by Papyrus and dropped into the snow. Another wall of bones formed between Papyrus and Waterfall.

“AS… AS MUCH AS I WOULD LIKE TO JOIN THE GUARD,” Papyrus said, “I CAN’T STAND BY AND WATCH UNDYNE HURT YOU. YOU’RE VERY NICE, AND I’M SURE YOU AND UNDYNE CAN BE FRIENDS IF SHE GIVES YOU A CHANCE! JUST NOT RIGHT NOW.”

Ammy stood up and growled irritably.

Papyrus stood his ground. “I KNOW YOU’RE MAD AT ME, BUT YOU HAVE TO TRUST ME!”

With a dab of Ammy’s celestial brush, ink covered Papyrus completely.

“NYEH? WHERE DID ALL THIS COME FROM?” he shouted as he desperately tried to wipe it all off. He looked up to find Ammy already dashing into Waterfall and out of sight.

Just as Ammy swiftly disappeared, so too did every spot of ink, leaving no trace behind.


	3. Waterfall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Undyne? Yeah, she's a local hero around here.
> 
> Actually, she just came through here asking about someone who looked just like you....

Ammy ran and ran until the snow long disappeared and seaweed-like grass overtook parts of the path ahead. Water flow echoed from the distant branching river channels. Large glowing mushrooms scattered about lit the caves, casting a dull blue light on everything around.

She slowed to a stop and looked back with regret. After a moment, Chara nudged her onward. “We can return anytime after we reach New Home.”

After a second of hesitating, she continued onward.

Waterfall itself held a surreal silence. Almost no one could be found, and what few monsters could be seen either lived deep underwater or locked away in homes carved into the stone walls. Every corridor branched off into several dead ends with either someone’s home or a quiet reclusive spot with benches, park equipment, and overgrown glowing flora. The rock walls and floors were smoothed, polished, and worn down by water flow. High above them, the ceiling gleamed from embedded crystals.

A large patch of enormous illuminating flowers caught Ammy’s eye. She approached one that reached up to her chin and gently pawed at it.

From the flower, a whisper escaped, “I wish my sister would come back from treatment.…”

“That is an echo flower,” Chara explained with a bored look on their face. “Monsters used to wish on stars, but now some monsters tell echo flowers our wishes. It is a local tradition for monsters in Waterfall. For everywhere else, monsters wish on the crystals above us.”

A thought passed through their mind. “I wonder though…”

They hopped off Ammy’s back and leaned close to the echo flower. They uttered, “I wish I could still eat chocolate….”

A moment passed, and Chara glanced over at Ammy. She pawed at the flower.

“I wish my sister would come back from treatment….”

Their expression turned neutral and unreadable. “I see. I am not certain what I expected.”

Ammy gave them a concerned look before turning back to the flowers. She nudged, bumped, and tapped flower after flower, listening to the wishes inside with apt focus.

“I wish I didn’t have to do this project.”

“I want more room to swim in.”

“King Asgore should visit MY school soon!”

“I wanna find some neat treasure in the dump!”

“I wish another human would fall down here soon….”

“More room for my children.”

“look behind you”

Her ears twitched at this last flower. She bumped it with her nose and heard it speak once again in a familiar voice. Slowly, the wolf turned around, and a skeletal finger dug into her cheek.

Chara burst out laughing. “I wondered when you would finally notice him!”

Sans stepped back to give Ammy back her space, all while making no effort to hide his self-satisfied grin. “that was worth the wait. serves you right for bein nosey”

“Auoo?” she grunted, giving her full attention to Sans.

He pulled out a cellphone and held it up. “got a call from paps. you really freaked him out runnin off like that. he thinks undyne’s gonna mount you on her wall. I don’t really get why shes after you but you’re in for a ruff time if you go any further.”

“Uhnn...”

“then you really shouldn't keep going. just go back to snowdin. not like youll be sore for company.”

Ammy nodded knowingly.

Sans shrugged. “well I tried. maybe I’ll see ya around. wouldnt want anything bad to happen to ya.”

With that, he walked off down a path and disappeared from sight. Ammy glanced at the path and gave Chara a confused look.

“But that was a dead end…. Oh yeah. Teleportation.” They shook their head dismissively. “We should keep moving. We do not want Undyne to find us here.”

She looked back at the tunnel Sans left through and then turned towards the echo flower. After a nudge, it repeated the last thing said around it.

With that wish heard, Ammy headed onward with Chara. Eventually, they came upon a room that stretched onward and onward with deep water everywhere. The only thing connecting one end of the room to the other was a wooden walkway with a large gap in the middle to allow large water-dwelling monsters to pass. A sign stood where the ferry for the walkway should be.

Chara glared at the sign. “’Ferry out of order.’ Is this Undyne’s way of stopping us? Pathetic. Ammy is a god! I bet she can fly or walk on water!”

No response from Ammy.

They looked over with a questioning look. “You can fly or walk on water, right?”

She looked downward.

“But you are a god! What kind of god can’t fly or walk on water?!” Then they huffed. “Fine. So you are not Wolf Jesus. What can you do to cross this river?”

Ammy’s ears perked up. She drew a circle in the water and a giant lily pad appeared, complete with a lily flower and a tiny frog that dove into the water. She stepped onto the lily pad and sat down, leaving more than enough room for Chara. The two stared at one another before the child realized the lily was their ferry rather than the start of a makeshift bridge. They joined her, sat down very gently, and waited.

When a strong breeze blew on them, the lily pad slowly moved through the water.

Chara groaned and lied down. “You should have just made a bridge….”

The lily pad drifted more and more, yet it never seemed to get any closer to the other side. Ammy looked absolutely content with this pace. Chara glanced over and loudly sighed.

“I really thought you would be more impressive,” they said.

She looked over at them, but something in the water caught her eye. She stared down deep into the depths, even letting the lily pad slow to a stop. Chara finally decides to roll over to look.

Ammy snatched Chara and leapt into the air just before blue magic spears ripped through the lily pad. She hastily drew another lily pad below her, but more spears shredded the new lily pad before she could land. Dark water completely engulfed them as they fell into the river.

Chara grabbed hold of Ammy and swam up towards the surface. Spears flew past their sight, lighting the way to the air above them. When they broke through from the water, a lily pad formed and the two climbed up on it.

“Being Wolf Jesus would have been handy right—”

A large spear stabbed right through Ammy’s stomach. Blood dripped from the wound and several cuts from the attack underwater. She gasped heavily for air.

Undyne, captain of the Royal Guard, broke through onto the water’s surface. With her armor gone for this ambush, she treaded the water as easily as breathing. The darkness of the cave obscured most of her details, with the exception of her bright red hair and fins.

She stared at Ammy in disbelief. “No, it can’t end this easy!”

As the magic spear disappeared, the wolf huffed and glared at her.

A grin spread wide across her face. “That’s more like it!”

Undyne dove back into the water and threw a torrent of spears at Ammy. The wolf leapt out of the way and drew an asterisk on the water.

Ice stalactites crashed into the water, leaving behind frozen chunks of ice floating on the surface. With some quick scribbling, the gaps between the ice froze over into a solid platform. She landed on the ice platform and promptly fell slipped right onto her face.

Spears jabbed into the ice platform over and over at rapid fire and then stopped. A second of silence fell as Ammy got back onto her feet. Then the water sprayed everywhere as Undyne leapt out and dropped onto the platform. Despite her firm footing, she skidded over the ice and fell onto her side.

She glared at Ammy. “You think you’re clever, huh, you little shit?”

The warrior got back to her feet and summoned a spear to her hands. She lunged at Ammy, who simply hopped over her. Both of them slid on the ice and struggled to face each other once more. As soon as their eyes met, Undyne lunged again.

Ammy ran around Undyne in a large circle and, with her paintbrush drawing a path made of ice, dashed towards the docks on the other end.

“YOU WILL NOT RUN AWAY FROM THIS FIGHT!”

Once Ammy’s feet hit the dock’s firm wooden flooring, her running became faster and surer.

“GET BACK HERE, COWARD!” Undyne’s indignant roars started to fade from the distance. “THIS FIGHT WILL HAPPEN!”

When the docks were well behind, Ammy quickly ducked into an out-of-the-way cavern room. She pulled out the spider cider, knocked the jug over, and lapped up the spilled cider as it spread across the floor. The numerous cuts and the large gash through her stomach gradually healed over as the goddess licked the spider cider off the ground.

“No wonder Papyrus was worried,” Chara grimly noted. “If Undyne’s attack is that high, you should just keep running.”

Ammy stayed, however, and licked every drop of spider cider until it was gone. While the wounds from Undyne’s spears completely healed over, Ammy still winced for a few minutes. As they both left that side room, glancing behind them for Undyne, Chara quietly remained content with walking by her side.

The path lead the two towards a large area with stone bridges, wooden stairs, and glowing water that covered most visible space. Gem and rock formations on the walls and the ceiling gleamed brilliantly. The traversable land barely had anyone walking about, and the few on the walkway were immediately spotted. Park benches, a lonely ice cream stand, and some recycling bins dotted the twisting path.

Chara gazed before them. “Well, they were talking about making this place a park while I was alive.”

They walked along together in silence until coming upon the ice cream stand. The blue rabbit monster that tended to the stand didn’t seem to notice as Ammy approached and read the sign.

He moaned, “But it’s a park…. Ice cream sells well in parks!”

“…OH!”

The ice cream vendor leaned over his cart with a large grin on his face. “Hello, there! Try one of my Nice Creams! Twenty-five gold for one!”

Ammy slid her paw onto the cart. When removed, twenty-five gold coins appeared from where she had her paw. The vendor pocketed the coins and took out a Nice Cream. He looked her over and his smile faded a little in confusion. After a second, he unwrapped the Nice Cream and offered it to the wolf, who grabbed it with her mouth.

Then he held the wrapper towards her with a big smile. The large, colorful text read, “Are those claws natural?”

Ammy bashfully turned her head away.

The two gave each other a joyful smile before they parted ways. While she only stopped once to toss the Nice Cream’s stick into a recycling bin, Ammy kept a steady walking pace. Her fur shone brilliantly with not a single trace of blood from earlier.

Chara looked over at her and said in a bored tone, “Our fastest way back to the castle is through Hotland’s elevators. We can just go right to the castle at the first elevator we find.” They huffed. “I am so glad we won’t have to go throu—”

Time froze.

Ammy slashed her brush from a narrow foothold in a nearby wall to her. The ink turned into a vine and yanked her towards the wall, followed by a shrill scream. By the time Chara looked, Ammy snarled at the wall and huffed in resignation.

“What happened?” they questioned.

Ammy leapt down and waited for them to climb up on her back. She jumped back to the ledge and glanced around.

“Whatever was here is not around anymore,” they stated. “How did you use that power, though? What is—WOAH!”

Up and up to another and another ledge, all hidden away from the main walkway by just difficult angles, Ammy climbed until she reached an isolated room.

Sunlight shone down through a large crack in the ceiling. Yellow, hardy flowers grew in a thin patch where the sunlight reached. The walls themselves were sloped from rubble. Dust motes drifted in the air and danced in the light.

Chara dismounted and walked around. “Wow…. I don’t think anyone knows of this place.”

A snarl ripped from Ammy’s throat as she dug into the rubble. She stuck her head inside and struggled to pull something out. Chara rushed to her side, calling out “Stop! Stop that!”, but by the time they got there, she ripped out a vine.

Under the layers of rock and dirt were nets and tangles of roots. The roots shuffled deeper into the ground as another vine slid out and whipped at Ammy’s nose. She yelped in pain as the vine slithered out of sight.

Chara stared at where the roots were and paused in thought. “So…” they said. “These are connected to Flowey, right? This isn’t something normal plant monsters can do, and Flowey isn’t exactly normal.”

Ammy turned away from the wall and looked around. She noticed the cracks on the ceiling and started climbing up the other wall. Chara, meanwhile, ignored her in favor of more pressing thoughts.

“Undyne is trying to kill us, and Flowey is following us. I thought Snowdin’s cold would stop him, but if this is his root system, then he could be anywhere. But Undyne is popular and well-known here and we don’t know if she would get everyone in Snowdin and Waterfall to turn against us. This isn’t good….” They heard a steady hiss and finally turned towards Ammy. “Hey, are you listening?”

They gasped at Ammy, who stood on her hind legs to press a giant, round paper bomb against the crack in the ceiling.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” They cried out. “YOU CAN MAKE BOMBS?! WHY ARE YOU BLOWING UP THE CEILING? DO YOU WANT TO KILL YOURSE—”

_BOOM!_

Chunks from the ceiling crashed down onto the floor, taking out Ammy and some flowers. Sunlight shone brightly down upon the remaining flowers below, barely even affected by the dust swirling around in the air. She poked her head through the rubble and climbed out. Although covered in dust and tiny bits of rubble, she just stared at Chara with a happy grin and wagged her tail.

Chara glared at her. “What were you even trying to accomplish?”

Ammy scribbled ink all over the flowers around them. Suddenly, strong and healthy golden flowers popped from the ground and spread across the entire floor. Now guaranteed sunlight and rain, these flowers would remain for years to come.

“That was it? Aren’t you worried about Flowey following us?” they dryly asked.

She motioned towards the exit. Chara simply sighed and mounted her back. Together, they dropped down to the park below and walked onward.

After passing the park boundaries, the terrain became rough and rocky. The glowing water gave way to dark depths. Rain echoed from a distance.

“I don’t remember going down this way,” Chara stated. “There was a more straightforward route that monsters took.”

Ammy walked forward, but then she halted, twitched her ears, and turned back. Nothing but darkness behind her.

Chara looked back too. “What? Is that weed still following us?”

After a moment, she shook her head and continued onward into the rain.

The surrounding stone felt strange on Ammy’s paws. Worn down by rain, some stone felt smooth while some felt rough, and some eroded away with veins and honeycomb-patterned holes from years of rain. Then, tucked away to the side, sat a large statue. It knelt down with some tiny figure in its arms and a melancholy face. However, time and the onslaught of rain weren’t kind to the statue. Large cracks formed up one of its horns, details and edges had long worn down, and a chunk of what might be a sleeve fell onto the ground. Still, enough remained for others to tell some things about it.

Chara looked downward, noting the metal plaque and dead flowers at the statue’s knees. “It is a memorial statue. I do not think it is as old as it looks. Someone just put it in a really bad spot.”

Ammy glanced around and barked at them. They stared at her for a second before dismounting. “You go on ahead, then,” they said. “I might as well stay here if you will just come back.”

With that, she took off. Chara looked back at the statue in mild curiosity. They knelt down and read the text on the plaque.

Chara recoiled in horror. Tearing their eyes away from the statue, they wheezed as they fought back against fresh tears. Even when Ammy returned with an umbrella, all they could do was shake.

Ammy whined at them.

No response.

The umbrella opened and she wedged the handle into a secure spot on the statue.

“Asriel….”

Ammy looked over at Chara.

Their face twisted into a scowl. “Asriel is such an angel! So caring! So thoughtful! Well you know what? If Asriel had thought for just a second, or maybe trusted me, everyone wouldn’t still be buried under this mountain! He’d be a KING! AND WE WOULDN’T BE DEAD!”

There was a hushed pause, and then Chara smoothed over their expression and spoke only with a calm tone. “We should keep moving.”

Ammy gave them a concerned look.

They refused to look anywhere other than forward.

Without anything to say, they walked onward. It didn’t take long before the rain grew heavy enough to soak her fur completely, but at least it wasn’t nearly as cold as it was in Snowdin. As they got further in, a voice suddenly called out.

“Yo!” A yellow monster child with a soaked striped poncho, a severely blackened eye, and no arms rushed at Ammy with an expression of absolute delight. “Can I go with you? I had this feeling that if I just, y’know, stood here waiting, I’d meet up with someone! And now you’re here! Can I come? Please? Please? I’m just looking for Undyne!”

She nodded.

“Yay! Let’s go find Undyne!” The monster kid ran out only a couple steps before falling flat on their face. Ammy rushed to his side and helped him up. All the child could do was laugh. “Sorry! That happens a lot.”

After a moment of thought, she swept the monster up onto her back. With a little adjusting, he balanced perfectly on her back. “Thanks!” he said. “Call me M.K. What’s your name?”

“Ahh-Mm,” she sounded.

“Ammy? Nice nickname. So did you see Undyne? She’s the COOLEST! She beats up bad guys, and is really strong, and knows all the coolest things about humans, and—”

Chara glared at Ammy in disbelief. “That’s my spot! I’m the only one allowed to ride you!”

She returned their glare with a dismissive, flat look.

“I don’t have a problem with M.K. I have a problem with people sitting on you like a pony! Have some dignity! You’re a goddess!”

Her head raised high and proudly as her strides kept M.K. steady on her back.

They stared at her defiance and vaulted onto her back. Even with the extra child awkwardly climbing on, Ammy walked on undisturbed. Chara sat right where M.K. sat, phasing through him, and shivered. They climbed back down and accepted the idea of walking by Ammy’s side. Their eyes avoided her as they muttered, “I still can’t get used to phasing through people….”

Completely oblivious to the petty argument, M.K. continued chattering.

“So, one time, my school did a project and we had to grow flowers, and King Asgore came to talk to my school! He talked about responsibility and stuff, but seeing him there got me thinking…. What if UNDYNE came to my school and beat up all the teachers! That’d be awesome!”

Then he paused. “…But then again, Undyne only beats up bad guys. She’s too cool to hurt an innocent.”

“Anyway! I started training so I could be in the Royal Guard when I grow up! I’ve been doing squats and crunches and running and practicing my magic! I can make a pattern now! How cool is THAT!”

He continued on and on. Ammy kept apt attention, and her twitching ears and wide eyes never caused any doubt in her interest towards the monster child’s talking. Only when the cavern hall opened up to a great, dark expanse did M.K. call for her to stop.

“Wait, wait! Look at that!” Everyone looked out at the view. The capital city of New Home, lit up like daytime, glowed in the distance. The light seemed warm and busy, blotting out the cold crystals above them with the city’s brilliance.

Chara, finally breaking their silence, said, “We should come back here when it’s nighttime. The view here should be a lot better.”

They lingered for a moment before continuing onward. The path ahead had steep climbs and cliffs that, for anyone M.K. and Chara’s sizes, would be difficult to climb. However, Ammy simply jumped over those intimidating heights. Eventually, they found themselves on a series of bridges with twisting, branching paths. M.K. glanced between each path and said, “I know one of these goes down to Undyne’s house, but I can’t remember which one.”

Ammy headed along the northern side. She would peer off down below her into the darkness every so often and walk onto another part of the bridge. After some time, Chara glanced back and spotted a figure following behind on a lower bridge.

“Undyne is following us,” they stated. “I don’t think she will attack as long as M.K. is around, but we should try to shake her off.”

She nodded and perched over a dead end.

“…What are you doing?”

M.K. smiled knowingly. “Oh! There’s a human saying I think I heard! It’s, um…” He recited, “Leap before you think!”

Chara went pale. “That’s not how it goes.”

Ammy prepared to leap down. They clutched at her chest and tried pulling her away. “THAT’S NOT HOW IT GOES!”

She leapt into the darkness below, taking M.K. and Chara with her.

“THAT’S NOT HOW IT GOES, YOU DUMBASS!”


	4. Undyne

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Smells like angry fish.

Ammy, Chara, and M.K. landed in a deep pool at the center of a small neighborhood block. Ammy climbed out of the pool and set the children down on their feet. While Chara just lied on the solid ground, M.K. hopped up and down excitedly.

“WOW! That was so cool! Let’s do that again!” he shouted.

Chara uttered, “No. Please, don’t. I thought I was gonna die. Again.”

Suddenly, he stopped and said, “Oh, yeah! I have to meet with Undyne! Her house is near here!” He headed northwest, only stopping to turn towards Ammy one more time. “Thanks for the ride! We gotta hang out later!”

Ammy grinned towards him before facing Chara, who sat in a daze. They slowly said, “Can… Can I have a moment? I just need… I know I cannot die, but…” They shook their head.

Even though she lingered for a while longer, Chara still seemed no better. She left them in peace.

To the north, she came upon two round houses, one light blue and the other pink. She sniffed the air and immediately wagged her tail wildly. A familiar scent.

“…oh.”

At the very sight of the shy ghost, Ammy bounded over to him. Even though he was tired from farm work, he smiled faintly.

“i saw you at the ruins. i don’t think i introduced myself… i’m so sorry… that lady with you was just so intimidating…” He said, “my name’s napstablook. i was just heading home from the snail farm… you can ‘come with’, if you’d like… but no pressure…”

Napstablook headed towards the light blue house, and she followed closely behind. He looked back at her in confusion yet headed inside. Ammy, however, lingered outside. She took out the pie from Toriel, a cloth, and a giant blue divine glaive longer than Ammy’s body. With careful precision, she cut a slice of pie and set it on the cloth. After putting away both the blade and the rest of the pie, she carried the bundled slice inside.

Napstablook’s home was neglected, to say the least. Cobwebs covered the ceiling with one bake sale flier attached to the only fresh spider web. Stacks of CDs lay along the southern wall sorted in a manner familiar only to Napstablook. The wooden floor had holes, the walls were cracked, and the only furniture there other than his computer and desk were an old fridge and TV. Still, there was a lived warmth that made her feel right at home.

In the time it took for Ammy to take the entire house in, Napstablook finally noticed her. “oh… you really came…” He seemed embarrassed. “sorry, i… wasn’t expecting that. it’s not much but… make yourself at home.”

She set down the pie slice and offered it to him.

“is that for me?” He hovered over it. “it looks delicious… but i can’t eat it. i’m sorry…” Before she could look disappointed, he motioned towards the fridge. “But i can get you something to eat… if you’re hungry…”

Napstablook went over to the fridge, pulled out a colorless, transparent sandwich, and held it out to her. “this is a ghost sandwich. would you like to try—”

Ammy immediately bit into it, but her jaws snapped as though nothing were there. She stared at the sandwich in complete confusion and dismay.

“oh… but don’t be sad... um, after a great meal I like to lie on the ground and feel like garbage… it’s a family tradition… do you want… to join me…?”

She nodded and the two of them lied down on the old floorboards. At first, she felt nothing, but slowly, as her body settled, she began to feel her physical form slip away. The endless expanses of space and the countless timelines and all within came to the forefront of her mind and yet passed through like a steady river. What she was, will be, and had not become were all one great entity. Sublime and powerful. Merciful and unrelenting. She was Okami Amaterasu, Source of All that is Good and Mother to—

Napstablook sat up. “well, that was nice… thank you…”

He returned to his computer as Ammy struggled onto her feet. She squeaked a goodbye and Napstablook returned that with a nod.

When she got outside, she found Chara patiently waiting close to Napstablook’s house. At first, they were about to say something, but stared in confusion at her. “…Are you okay?” they asked. “To be blunt, you look like garbage. Do you want to stay a little longer and rest?”

Ammy shook her head. She stretched her legs out and, after pulling Chara up on their back, started trotting off towards the end of Waterfall. Her speed built up more and more. Chara watched in concern as they passed by a shop, and then a dark field lit by only mushrooms and lanterns, and even then zipped right on through the field of echo flowers. She only stopped when they reached a thin bridge that hung precariously over spiked stalagmites.

“HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!”

Undyne finally caught up to them. Using a spear, she vaulted over Ammy and blocked their way. She jabbed a spear at Ammy’s face. “You! No more running like a coward, Amaterasu! I know you’re better than that! You fought and defeated Orochi and yet you won’t fight me? HA! You just know I know what you really are! You’re a god for humans! I bet you even took their side during the war between monsters and humans! You think you can fool others by fixing things or looking like a regular dog monster, but you can’t fool me! If I take your soul—the soul of a GOD—King Asgore won’t even need the six human souls we collected!”

Chara scowled. “Six human souls…?”

Undyne shouted, “Surrender your soul, God of Humans, and maybe that will redeem you for the crimes humans have committed!”

They said, “You’re still groggy from earlier. You can’t fight as you are.”

Ammy glared at her challenger, pulled out the great glaive she used to cut pie just moments ago, and roared.

“That’s Tsumugari…!” Undyne sneered. “Alright! No more holding back! Give it all you’ve got!”

The two warriors charged.

Ammy’s sword and Undyne’s spear clashed against each other. They pulled away and Undyne struck with rapid-fire thrusts. Ammy staggered back, and with a mighty swing, she charged against her opponent. Although Undyne blocked with her spear, the blow knocked her weapon out of her hand and forced her to step back with each decisive swing of the glaive.

When Undyne’s foot touched the dirt behind her, she summoned countless tiny bullets and showered them down at the wolf. Some got knocked down by ink slashes, some by Tsumugari’s swings, but Ammy still ducked under her comparatively tiny fire-rimmed reflector for protection.

Undyne stabbed at Ammy with her full weight into the attack. Although Ammy hopped back, the spearhead still dug into her left shoulder.

A second passed, and Ammy snarled.

She threw herself at Undyne and tackled her into the hard ground. Undyne kicked the wolf off and sprung to her feet. The hit flung Chara off Ammy’s back and they both hit the ground separately. While she rolled back onto her feet, Chara slowly pulled themself back up.

The lull broke with Undyne throwing more bullets at Ammy. With a dive to the left, she managed to dodge the bulk of the tiny arrows but still got hit on her back half. She rushed at Undyne with Tsumugari and slashed, hitting her right on the chest.

Undyne stumbled back from the force and gasped for air. She looked down at the gash in her armor and examined her wound.

1482/1500HP

She gave Ammy a look of pure disgust. “Really? That’s it? You’re not even trying!”

Undyne lunged at Ammy, but she stepped out of the way. Ammy latched her jaws around Undyne’s ankles and dashed for the tunnel connecting Waterfall and Hotland, dragging Undyne along in the dirt. After being dragged several feet, she summoned a spear and jabbed it into Ammy’s face. The wolf cried out and immediately dropped her.

When Chara caught up, the two were exchanging blows with their blades. They glanced around and noticed the river below them and the giant ice blocks carried from Snowdin.

“Ammy!” they called out. “Look down! There’s water and ice!”

The momentary distraction left an opening, and Undyne knocked Ammy down with a brutal swing. However, the paintbrush appeared and, using the ice blocks, scribbled a thick wall of ice between the two opponents. As Undyne punched holes through the ice wall, Ammy waited for Chara to catch up and climb back onto her back. Cracks started to form in the wall. The paintbrush appeared once again and drew a circle with a short line.

A large paper bomb materialized. The fuse hissed with life.

Ammy nudged the bomb a little closer to the wall and backed away.

On the other side of the ice wall, Undyne growled, “Oh for… THIS WALL IS GOING DOWN RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW!”

Undyne crashed through the wall with full force.

The bomb exploded with colorful sparks and flying shreds of dyed paper. Undyne landed along the path far ahead and groaned in pain. Before she could get up, Ammy snatched her ankle and dragged her several feet again. Just when she summoned another spear, Ammy dropped her and bashed her with Tsumugari.

Another shower of arrows fell upon Ammy, and all she could do was block as many as she could with her reflector. Suddenly, several spears landed around her and boxed her in. Undyne leapt in with her spear, yet Ammy jumped up high and dodged the attack.

A spear flew right through Ammy’s stomach.

She landed on the ground with a thud. The magic spear disappeared, but the damage was done. Ammy pulled herself to her feet and panted heavily.

Undyne gasped for air and approached with another spear. “You… really are tough! But everyone’s hopes and dreams count on me getting your soul! So just hold still!”

She raised her spear high and—

Suddenly, Undyne got thrown into the air like an old chew toy. With a loud thump, she fell on the ground. When she got on her feet, she immediately blocked the heavy oncoming attacks with Tsumugari. Too fast to dodge, but slow enough to block, Undyne braced herself for each swing from Ammy’s glaive, backing up more and more until Hotland’s heat washed over the both of them.

Ammy leapt up and landed on the snow-laden roof of an unmanned sentry station. She slashed at every attack Undyne sent at her and swung Tsumugari whenever she got too close.

Undyne glanced between Ammy and the sentry station and snapped, “Why did I hire Sans? He’s not even here when I need him the most!” She thrust her spear up at Ammy a few more times before she started panting. “It’s Hotland, too! You had to run all the way out here in the heat, you cheater? Well…!” She started sweating heavily. “Well…! I won’t let it… stop me! Ugh…”

Ammy peered over at her in concern.

“I… I should’ve… put on some cooling dirt…” She swayed for a moment and fell flat on the ground.

As Ammy jumped down from the ground, Chara said, “You pushed her a little too much. Maybe drag her back into Waterfall.”

Ammy gruffed a little in response. They frowned but nodded. “That is very nice of you, especially to someone who tried to kill you. I will tolerate that for now.”

With that, she pulled Undyne up on her back and ran back into Waterfall.


	5. Quiet Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let's try that friendship thing again.

The aged turtle monster Gerson shut Undyne’s bedroom door behind him. “Thanks for bringin’ her back home. She gets in over her head a little much sometimes.”

Ammy kept her eyes downward.

Gerson simply waved at her dismissively. “Don’t beat yerself over it. It’d take more than a little brawl to take her down. All she needs is a little sleep and she’ll be back up in no time.” Then he sat down across the table from Ammy and said, “So what’s yer business here in the underground? Last I heard, you had plenty of humans worshiping you.”

She tilted her head in confusion while Chara went, “Wait, he knows what you are?”

Gerson explained, “Most monsters got cornered here at Mount Ebott during the war. We got folks from all over mingling and talking. I got the chance to meet some really nice turtles and foxes that grew up on stories about Amaterasu.”

She heaved a long sigh.

Gerson’s toothy smile grew a little sad. “Yeah, that includes some Poncle, too. I don’t think all of them were with us, so I got no clue what happened to the rest.”

The room fell silent.

Suddenly, Gerson asks, “So what _are_ you here for? Not saying we don’t need a little divine intervention down here, but having a god around is kinda a big deal.”

“Borf.”

“Figures. How are ya gonna deal with it?”

Ammy looked out towards a general direction and narrowed her eyes.

He shook his head. “Wahahah! Well, whatever that plan is, hope it works.”

The door suddenly knocked.

Gerson got up and answered it. When the door opened, he said, “Ah! Hello, there, Papyrus! Did you come all the way here to see your friend?”

“YES! IS UNDYNE ALRIGHT? HAVE YOU SEEN AMATERASU?”

“Yes, yes. They’re both here. Amaterasu brought her in. Undyne just needs a little sleep and she’ll be back on her feet in no time!”

Papyrus sighed in relief. “THEY’RE BOTH OKAY?”

“Wahahah! Of course they are! Come on in and I’ll serve ya some tea for your time.”

“THANKS! THAT’S VERY NICE OF YOU.” Papyrus walked in and spotted Ammy. “HELLO, AMATERASU. YOU’RE LESS HOLELY THAN I FEARED!”

Ammy gave a casual “Boof.”

Papyrus glanced away in slight hesitance. “…ARE YOU SURE I CAN JUST CALL YOU ‘AMMY’? YOU ARE A GODDESS, AND UNDYNE SAID—”

“Wahahahah!” Gerson patted Papyrus on the back. “It’s fine, kid! She said call her ‘Ammy’ so call her that! You don’t need to be all formal around her! Now sit down! I’ll make some tea!”

While the old monster headed for the cabinets, Papyrus sat down at Undyne’s table. He seemed a little more relaxed this time. “SINCE YOU AND UNDYNE WILL BE FRIENDS SOON, WE CAN ALL HANG OUT PROPERLY!” he chirped.

Ammy wagged her tail wildly.

The anxiety built up in Papyrus slowly melted away. “YOU WILL ACTUALLY BE THE FIRST DOG I EVER BEFRIENDED! I NEVER SEEMED TO CLICK WITH THE OTHER DOGS IN SNOWDIN.”

Horror struck Ammy’s face.

“I KNOW! THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS ALWAYS KIND!” But then he made a confused look. “BUT BEING KIND DIDN’T SEEM TO BE WHAT I NEED TO DO TO MAKE FRIENDS. I FIGURED THAT THEY WOULD ALL SEE WHAT A GREAT FRIEND I CAN BE ONCE I JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD, BUT… AFTER WHAT I DID TODAY, I DON’T THINK UNDYNE WILL EVER LET ME JOIN.”

Gerson chuckled as he set down a mug and a bowl full of tea. He said, “Don’t worry about it. Undyne won’t hold it against you.”

“BUT…”

The old warrior started scratching behind Ammy’s ears, and she instantly zoned out and relaxed. “’Sides, a goddess like this hasn’t hurt anybody! Well, nothing serious.”

Papyrus noted no second mug. “MR. GERSON, AREN’T YOU GOING TO HAVE TEA?”

Gerson paused, and then he said, “You two will. Maybe even with Undyne. I’m going back to my store.”

He quickly left.

Papyrus scowled. “HE LOSES OUT.” His face returned to a big smile when he turned back towards Ammy. “BUT WE CAN STILL HANG OUT WHILE WE WAIT FOR UNDYNE TO WAKE UP!”

Ammy looked over at Chara, who had been sitting quietly next to her the entire time. Chara looked back and went, “What? This is your time to spend. I’m not getting any deader.”

“IS THERE SOMEONE WITH YOU?” Papyrus asked. “SOME KIND OF SPIRIT FRIEND?”

Chara stared at Papyrus in shock. Then they glanced between Ammy and Papyrus before they got a glint in their eye. They wrap their arms around Ammy and, with all the might of a ghostly 12-year-old, lifted the large wolf up into the air.

Over Ammy’s cries to be put back down, Chara shouted, “YES! I AM HERE! I WILL BE YOUR FRIEND! JUST REALIZE THAT I AM HERE!”

Papyrus’s eyes would have sparkled, if they could. He gasped in absolute delight, “THERE IS SOMEONE THERE! CAN THEY BE _MY_ FRIEND? I WOULD LOVE MORE FRIENDS!”

“YES! I JUST WANT…” Chara choked back a sob and dropped Ammy. “I just want to be seen! How can I talk to Papyrus if the only thing I can touch is you?”

Papyrus furrowed his brow and paused in thought. “IF MY NEWEST FRIEND COULD TALK, THEY WOULD HAVE DONE SO BY NOW… AND IF THEY COULD PICK UP STUFF, THEY WOULD HAVE ALSO DONE THAT TOO. IF AMMY IS THE ONLY ONE THEY CAN TOUCH, WHAT CAN WE DO…?” He glanced up right when Ammy started stretching. Her tail looked a little strange. Almost like…

He smiled brightly. “AMMY! YOUR TAIL LOOKS LIKE A PAINTBRUSH! MAY WE USE YOUR TAIL SO OUR FRIEND CAN WRITE?”

Chara snapped their face towards Ammy and noted, “…Your tail really does look like a paintbrush.” Then they smiled sweetly. “Please, Ammy? May I write and draw with your tail?”

Ammy glanced between Papyrus and Chara’s hopeful faces and gave them a resigned nod.

“THANK YOU! I’LL LOOK FOR SOME PAINT! I THINK UNDYNE MIGHT HAVE SOME FOR PAINTING TARGETS.” He got up and started searching the house.

Chara hugged Ammy. “Thank you! I’m going to finally talk to someone!”

Papyrus returned with several old newspapers, some large blank paper, a red paint bucket, a roll of aluminum foil, and a single paintbrush. He spread the newspaper over the floor, made four small bowls out of aluminum and carefully filled two with the red paint and the other two with water, and set two aluminum bowls and some blank paper on one end and kept some paper and the other two bowls for himself. After Ammy sat close to the set-up so Chara could easily paint, Papyrus got back up and moved Ammy’s tea to her.

“IF YOU WOULD LIKE MORE TEA, LET ME KNOW,” he said before he returned to the spot across from her.

Chara lied down close to Ammy’s tail and, with as much care as they could use, dipped the tip into the red paint and waited to see Papyrus’s reaction.

He was beaming as he asked, “WHAT’S YOUR NAME?”

Their face fell. Oh, their name. They couldn’t tell Papyrus their real name. That would open too many questions, and the thought of Papyrus telling others that he was friends with King Asgore’s dead human kid gave them a sinking feeling. Something else had to do.

Papyrus was waiting, though.

After some quick thought, they wrote down “Vena.”

“VENA?” He chirped, “HELLO, VENA! HOW OLD ARE YOU?”

“12.”

“TWELVE, HUH? THAT’S REALLY YOUNG FOR A GHOST…” Then his face became more hopeful. “WERE YOU BORN AS A GHOST?”

Chara set the tail down and waited for the subject to drop.

Papyrus turned sheepish. “…OH! I’M SO SORRY! I WASN’T THINKING. BUT WE CAN TALK ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE! OH! OH! LET’S PAINT PICTURES! ALL I COULD FIND WAS RED PAINT—I THINK UNDYNE USES IT FOR DRAWING TARGETS—BUT WE COULD STILL DRAW WITH ONE COLOR!”

He immediately started working on the paper. His lines were careful and precise, even though Papyrus didn’t seem to know anything about drawing. Chara envied his paintbrush, wishing they weren’t restricted to a wolf’s tail. Still, they did their best.

Others would call what Chara painted a scribble, but they called it an abstract of a red gloxinia.

When they were done, Papyrus leaned over to look at their painting. He cheered, “WOWIE! THAT’S LOVELY! WANNA SEE WHAT I DREW?” He held up a picture of himself as a superhero flying against a blank background and pointed at pieces of the costume. “THIS IS MY CAPE FLUTTERING IN THE WIND! AND THIS IS MY SUPER ARMOR! RIGHT NOW I’M WEARING MY BATTLE BODY, BUT FOR SUPERHERO WORK, I NEED SOMETHING TOUGHER!”

Chara frowned in thought.

“HEY, VENA? DO YOU HAVE ANY SIBLINGS?” he asked. “I JUST HAVE MY BROTHER SANS. I KNOW HE DOES A LOT FOR ME, EVEN THOUGH HE’S LAZY MOST OF THE TIME. I WANNA GET HIM SOMETHING HE’D LIKE A LOT, BUT HE’S INTO SPACE AND STARS AND STUFF. IT’S JUST NOT SOMETHING I’VE EVER BEEN INTERESTED IN. I DON’T REALLY KNOW HOW I’M GONNA FIND SOMETHING NICE IN THE DUMP WHEN I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT HALF THAT STUFF LOOKS LIKE! YOU GOT ANY IDEAS?”

They tugged on Ammy’s tail. “Hey, can you move this paper around so I can draw without pulling on your tail?”

Ammy stood up and pushed the flower painting aside with a gentle paw and pulled a blank page closer. Then she lied back down and slowly drank her warm tea.

“Thanks.” They painted blocks of red at the bottom for hills and trees and then drew a crescent moon in a far upper corner. Then flicked the end of the tail very precisely so red paint speckled across the sky, with most dots clustering for what they hoped looked like the Milky Way. Although, if they were honest, it just looked like a blood splatter.

Papyrus peered at the painting with squinted eyes. The single color likely didn’t help him figure out what it was supposed to be, but he still smiled widely at Chara’s general direction. “THIS IS SO GOOD! NOW I KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR!”

“Liar,” they said.

Then he held up a second painting. “THIS IS MY BROTHER AND I! …THE SHORT CIRCLES ARE SUPPOSED TO BE SANS.”

This time, Papyrus swapped out the paper and they both went back to drawing. Chara glanced at the rough drawing of the skeleton brothers and back to their blank paper. They absentmindedly started doodling.

Papyrus finished another drawing and held it up—a red car. “WHEN I GET TO THE SURFACE, I’M GOING TO RACE DOWN THE HIGHWAY IN A CONVERTIBLE! THE WIND IN MY HAIR, ALL OF MY FRIENDS IN THE BACK SMILING AND LAUGHING… IT’LL BE JUST LIKE THE MAGAZINE ADS! EXCEPT I’M A SKELETON.”

Chara smiled and leaned towards another paper and drew a smiley face.

“I’M GLAD YOU LIKE IT!”

The bedroom door slammed open and Undyne stomped out. She shot a fierce glare at Ammy and snarled, “ _What are you doing in my house?! GET OUT!_ ”

Papyrus quickly got up and said, “WAIT! UNDYNE! IF YOU JUST GIVE THEM A CHANCE—”

She snatched her kettle and flung it at Ammy. “ _GET! OUT!_ ”

Ammy dashed out of the house, accidentally knocking some of the red paint around, and disappeared into the darkness of Waterfall. Chara could only sit there as they took in what just happened.

Papyrus looked around at the mess. “…I’LL CLEAN THIS UP.”

Undyne huffed and turned towards him with restrained frustration. “Papyrus! Why did you invite Amaterasu into my house?! She’s the ENEMY!”

Once he picked up Chara’s drawings and set them aside, he replied, “IF YOU JUST GIVE HER A CHANCE, YOU TWO COULD BE GREAT FRIENDS!”

“Friends?! Papyrus, she’s a god for HUMANS! What makes you think she’s here to be nice to monsters?”

“SHE WAS THE ONE WHO BROUGHT YOU HOME AFTER YOUR FIGHT!”

Undyne paused. After a second, she started picking up the old newspaper and aluminum. Her voice grew soft as she said, “Papyrus… You’re too nice. The enemy could trick you into thinking they’re going to be nice too, and you’re gonna get hurt. I don’t want that to ever happen!”

Papyrus gave her a side hug. “UNDYNE, I’M NOT GOING TO GET HURT. I’M NOT STUPID. I KNOW WHEN SOMEONE IS GOING TO BE MEAN. I NEED YOU TO TRUST ME!”

“I do trust you, Papyrus!” she insisted. “I just don’t trust _them!_ ”

His face turned dejected. “BUT DOESN’T THAT MEAN YOU DON’T TRUST MY JUDGMENT?”

“What? But…” She shook her head. “You’re thinking too hard about this. Let’s just get this place cleaned up. We’ll start that cooking lesson afterwards.”

Chara watched them clean up a little longer before turning away and leaving. “…I didn’t really care anyway.”


	6. Alphys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alphys has every anime in existence. Even the nonexistent ones.

When Chara finally caught up to Ammy, they found her at the ferry docks washing off the paint on her tail. She hung her head a little low as she hummed in greeting.

“Yes, greetings,” they dryly responded. “I don’t think we should backtrack anymore unless we have to. Even when we try to do good or be nice, it just backfires in our faces.”

“Roooo.”

“Patient?! No, I’m not going to be ‘patient’!” They paused as Ammy picked them up by the back of their shirt collar. “Especially when they don’t deserve it! I was having fun with Papyrus when she came in and ruined it!”

Ammy stepped onto a giant lily pad floating down the river and set the child down. She listened as Chara continued ranting.

“—people like that just want to act as if consequences don’t exist—”

The chill of Waterfall gave way to a heat wave from Hotland.

“—and humans like to deny that the evidence of how the horrible things they do don’t even exist—”

When they finally return to the general area where Undyne passed out, Ammy lifted Chara up by the back of their collar and stepped onto the warm ground. Chara still continued ranting despite having long moved on from ranting about Undyne. Even when Ammy approached the entrance a large and foreboding laboratory and stopped and set Chara down, the child continued.

“—and it just makes me so mad! Ugh! Why do people have to be like that?!” They finally notice the laboratory. “…Oh.”

Ammy walked forward without another sound.

Chara chased after her and angrily shouted, “Don’t laugh at me!”

The lab doors automatically opened. Inside was only darkness, save for a large screen that illuminated only what was in front of it with a bright, sickly glow. A few steps in and the automatic door closed, leaving that screen to be the only source of light. Ammy approached the screen and found herself, eclipsing the bright light like a planet, displayed on the monitor.

“It’s… you?” Chara uttered in confusion.

Ammy huffed and moved on until she bumped her face into a large semi-circle desk. She whimpered and rubbed her poor nose.

They shook their head at her. “This is what you get for not watching where you’re going.”

Suddenly, the lights turned on. Claws tapped on the tile floor as someone entered the main room. When Ammy and Chara moved around the desk, they locked eyes with a short, yellow tegu-like monster with yellow feathers going along her spine from her head to the tip of her thick tail and a white lab coat too large for her body. The feathers on the back of her head bunched up into three thick bundles. The tegu monster turned red in the face and started tapping her feet nervously.

“Oh my gosh!” Her voice was a bit nasally but light. “I-I didn’t expect you to-to be here so soon! I haven’t showered, my desk is a mess, I…”

She took a deep breath and turned back towards Ammy, calmer but still fidgeting with her hooked claws. “H-hello! My name is Alphys! I’m the royal scientist.”

Chara tapped on Ammy’s head and said, “Ask her why she was watching us.”

Alphys continued, “You must be Amaterasu! I can’t believe I’m actually… _meeting_ you! I didn’t even think you existed until you fought Undyne that first time! When I saw you use your Celestial Brush techniques, I knew it had to be you! And then I saw your red markings! It’s just like the Okami anime! And the game! And the manga! I’ve read all of those and I know all thirteen of your Brush techniques! I didn’t think you would appear in wolf form like the game, but—!”

She suddenly stopped when she realized she rambled. Alphys blushed deeply. “Uh, the point is that I’m a h-huge fan! Um, when I found out that you existed, I looked up all of the info I could dig up on you. Even stuff from humans!”

There was a pause. She fidgeted a little in place. “There’s actually a teeny tiny problem because I did that. See, I was downloading some human comics of you and…” She grinned sheepishly. “I accidentally downloaded a really bad virus? And it not only infected my computer but also everything connected to my computer? Like… like Hotland’s puzzles? Eheheh…”

Chara scowled at Alphys. “What? Did she download killallnerds.exe?”

Alphys coughed. “…The virus might have caused Hotland’s puzzles to go rogue. Some of them are… too dangerous for monsters to fix on their own. III’m hoping someone as strong as you could… take care of the worst puzzles while I take care of the virus. Can… Can you do that?”

Ammy gave Alphys a hearty nod.

Her smile turned from nervous and thin to gleeful and wide. “Thank you so much! I can’t thank you enough! The two of us together, we can fix this mess!”

Silence followed and Ammy and Alphys only continued to stare at each other. Alphys started fidgeting in place again and glanced away from Ammy’s face.

“Um… Um… I-I’ll… give you a phone!” She looked back at Ammy and cheerfully said, “I’ll give you your very own phone! I just need a few minutes to work on it! That way we can call each other in case something happens!”

Ammy tilted her head in confusion.

“I’ll show you once you get back. Why don’t you go check on the conveyer belts and then come back? I’ll have it done by then!”

Chara patted on Ammy’s shoulder. “I think she wants us to leave, numbskull.”

Finally getting the hint, Ammy trotted onward through the lab and out on the other side. The cave opened up to a colossal dome-shaped cave divided by metal platforms with some rooms having metal frames. Two towering elevator shafts connected each floor and each room

“Wow…!” Chara stared up at the entire cavern room with wide eyes. “Sometimes I forget how big the Underground is.”

Ammy examined the conveyer belt as it spun at speeds high enough to throw lighter creatures into the air. The gears were starting to turn red from overheating.

“I have never really been to Hotland before,” Chara rambled. “Mom said it was too dangerous for a human with all the volcanic gases, the heat, and magma.”

She glanced around for some sort of way over the conveyer belt but found nothing. With a quick stroke of her brush, an ice storm appeared around the gears but melted away as soon as it appeared. The conveyer belt still kept spinning wildly.

“But it looks a lot more developed than when I was alive. Maybe there’s proper ventilation for the toxic gases. Maybe, if I was still alive… if… if Asriel was…” Chara shook their head. “We can play here as ghosts! And you can play with us too! Asriel would love you! Now let’s go, already!”

Chara spurred the goddess on like a horse, earning a disgruntled huff before Ammy stepped closer to the conveyer belt. She studied it for a second and then moved back. With all of her strength, Ammy rushed forward and leapt into the air, nearly soaring above the ground.

But the conveyer belt was too long.

As soon as her feet hit the ground, the conveyer belt zipped Ammy and Chara along and threw them into the narrow area at the very end. The two of them rolled apart from each other. Chara slowly got up and snorted in irritation.

They griped, “Don’t you have some kind of power to—”

“YIP!”

Ammy got yanked and flung over the edge. She pulled out her brush, but there was nothing she could use. Her eyes were large and fearful as her body fell too low for anything to save her.

Chara could only watch as her body hit the magma. Although her screams only lasted a few short seconds, they echoed throughout the cavern. Monsters on nearby balconies stared with horrified faces as splashed magma coated the body.

“Heeheeheehee!”

Chara slowly turned to find Flowey peering over at the lump in the magma below. A cheerful grin stretched across his face.

“So gods really can die!”

Then they were back at the conveyer belt.

Ammy stood at the start of the conveyer belt in shock. Her fur glimmered without a hint of injury, and the edge where she fell was a long ways off. Chara was on her back once more. They both stared ahead at nothing for a long moment.

Chara uttered, “What was… But…” Something suddenly came to their mind, and their face drooped further. “Then that’s a Load…”

They started shaking. “…Please, just take me home already….”

She nodded and stepped onto the conveyer belt, this time with far more care. They zipped along and landed on the other side. When she turned around, she found an emergency shut-off switch on one of the conveyer belt’s support beams. She slashed it with her brush and the conveyer belt came to a stop. They moved on to the next few conveyer belts with a sharp eye out for the emergency switches and for Flowey. When the next conveyer belt was fine, they both headed back to Alphys’s lab.

Chara remained silent during the entire trip back.

Upon entering the lab, Alphys jumped up from her desk and hurried over with a headset in her hands. She proudly presented it to Ammy as she said, “Look! Your own phone! I know it doesn’t l-look like a traditional phone, but adjustments must be made for people without opposable thumbs.”

Alphys fitted the headset onto Ammy. “It’s voice activated. You can pull up a hologram keyboard and type with your paws that way. Give… Give it a try!”

“…Bark!”

A phone interface projected onto the floor. Little icons dotted a backdrop of a catgirl.

“Oh yeah! I signed you up for the Underground’s social media site! I hope you don’t mind….”

Ammy tapped one of the icons and a social media site popped up. She was already logged in with “SunDog” as her name. With a swipe of her paw, a keyboard showed up and she yipped at it.

Alphys’s phone dinged and she pulled it out. After a second, she squinted her eyes at the screen. “…’Bark’?”

Ammy’s headset dinged as the entire Royal Guard in Snowdin and Papyrus, excluding Undyne, followed her account.

Even though Alphys stared unbelieving, Chara just lied down with complete disinterest.

There was another ding. Lzyb0nes sent, [bit of a hotdog arent ya]

CoolSkeleton95 wrote, [OH NO! THE TROLL THAT BESEIGES ME IS BOTHERING YOU AS WELL!]

[Bark Bark!]

[lol gud 1]

[NOT YOU TOO!]

Chara snapped, “Does any of this matter?! I need to get home to Asriel and we have a killer weed following us! How do you just go from what just happened to this?!”

There was a pause, and Ammy shut off her phone. She gave Alphys an affectionate bump with her nose and started leaving.

“Ah… O-okay? I’m glad you liked it!” Alphys said as Ammy left.

Ammy and Chara exited the cool lab into Hotland’s overwhelming heat, although it never seemed to bother Ammy. She sat down and twisted as much as she could to look at Chara.

They scowled at the ground and kept their arms tightly crossed. Finally, they muttered, “What happened wasn’t right. It’s not right. It will never be right. Don’t pretend everything is alright.”

She sighed softly.

“…Just take me home, already.”

 

 

Ammy walked past the conveyer belts—

_Ding!_ [My claws haven’t shaken this much since Undyne called me about the weather!]

She checked another emergency switch just in case—

_Ding!_ [Wait we don’t have weather down here! Why did she call me???]

Chara glanced behind them and glared when they spotted Flowey watching from a safe distan—

_Ding!_ [I should ask her if she’ll watch this new anime with me]

Chara grabbed at Ammy’s headset and yelled in frustration when their hand could only phase through it. “I DON’T CARE! I DON’T CARE ABOUT EVERY LITTLE DETAIL IN HER LIFE! JUST IGNORE IT!”

Ammy’s ears twitched toward Chara warily. Then she kept walking.

_Ding!_

Ammy didn’t check that text. She came upon a large door with two branching paths to the side. She walked down the left path.

_Ding!_

At the end of the path was an entryway to a metal room. Students in school uniforms looked over at Ammy through a blue laser wall.

They waved at her.

Ammy and Chara waved back.

A slash from the Celestial Brush destroyed the machine producing the blue laser wall. The students gave a lackluster cheer for their new freedom and went back to their conversations.

“I guess they don’t want to go back to class.” With an equally dry tone, Chara added, “That would change if they had my mom for a teacher.”

_Ding!_

Ammy investigated the metal room and found a large dark screen already turned off and a set of controls.

“A puzzle,” they explained.

They both moved on to the other path and found three adults dressed in work clothes huddled around. Ammy approached and the group immediately took notice. The dinosaur monster grinned and said, “Curious? We’re catching the latest MTT episode! Check out the CGI!”

He lowered his phone to her. A square robot was competing with a very blocky CGI human over washing hands. The buzz of a timer halted them both, and the CGI human knelt down in despair while the robot got showered with flower petals.

The monster woman made of smooth black fire stated, “The next episode is an eating contest!”

The floating fox head between them both went, “Even though he can’t eat? It’s like? Weird? But good?”

Chara shrugged. “I guess this isn’t the worst thing I have seen a robot do in shows.”

Ammy gave Chara a questioning look.

“Hey, don’t lecture at me about what’s inappropriate for me to watch. I watched Boku No Pico on a dare before falling down here.”

Ammy gasped in horror.

The three working adults glanced at one another in confusion. The dinosaur monster casually shrugged and said, “Hey, if it’s not your thing, that’s okay. Still hope you come around to liking MTT, though.”

After checking the area, Ammy waved goodbye to the three monsters and moved on. Just when she reached the giant door between the paths, her phone rang.

Alphys’s nervous voice quivered as she said, “Hello! I-I mean… Alphys here! I’ll open that door right now! The area is… clear of bad puzzles!”

She hung up.

Ammy and Chara waited a moment.

A light tremble shook the ground as the giant door opened.

The two walked through and came upon a winding path. Several long minutes passed before they reached the end of it to a bustling commerce area. Major storefronts were embedded into the rock walls while locals put up stands. TV screens hung on walls and from the ceiling. Monsters clustered together, completely bored and a little irritable. While Ammy and Chara wove through the crowd, they caught pieces of different conversations.

“—think anyone fixed that puzzle yet?”

“At least MTT is on.”

“—dinner is going to be—”

“How great would it be if Mettaton visited?”

“It’s too late at night for this….”

“anyone want a ‘dog?”

Chara tugged on Ammy’s fur and pointed towards a stand with snow on the top where Sans sold hot dogs to the few monsters who visited his stand. When Ammy approached, Sans gave her an easy smile.

“you stuck here too?” he said. “most of the puzzles are deactivated unless a human comes through but this one up ahead locked down the entire area.”

Chara frowned. “But we just came here from that way.”

Ammy repeated Chara’s words.

Sans waved in the direction they just came dismissively. “problem with that way is it goes to the lab. these people want to go everywhere else in hotland. and since it’s lights out soon, we’ll all be stuck here overnight. anyway, want a ‘dog?”

Ammy considered it and set out the coins for one hotdog. Once Sans handed over the hotdog, she immediately ate it.

“…hey does this mean youre a cannibal and i just enabled you?”

Chara stared hard at Sans and then said, “Steal one of his arms. He won’t act like he’s so funny once his humerus gone.”

The intercom system in the area buzzed and a voice boomed out, “Everyone! Please direct your attention to your local MTT Glamstore! Employees there will pass out MTT brand sleeping bags, blankets, and pillows! Every item will have my face and likeness on them! Put all of your concerns and worries away as you cuddle me tonight! Meanwhile, my best employees will tend to the situation so you will all be free to leave in the morning! Sleep tight, everyone!”

The intercom buzzed off and Sans said, “welp. time to sleep.” He pulled out a blanket and pillow and started snoring as soon as his head touched the pillow.

Ammy tapped next to Sans’s head. No response.

Chara said incredulously, “But… he can teleport! He’s not stuck here at all! Did he just want to sleep in on the job?” Then they huffed. “Whatever. Let’s check out that puzzle blocking the way.”

Ammy wormed her way through the crowd as people gathered around the MTT store. When she finally broke through, she gasped for air and lingered to recover from being squished by the multiple bodies. She moved on to the area beyond and stopped at the sight of what was before her.

A series of steam vents, all arranged to be within jumping distance of each other or the platforms, produced steam at a constant outpour. Monsters on the nearby platforms watched the vents in concern.

Chara said, “No wonder they can’t get out from here. With the vents like this, it’s too dangerous to leave.”

The phone started ringing. When Ammy answered it, Alphys’s voice came through.

“A-Alphys here!” she announced. “I see where you are now. One of the connecting ventilation ducts closer to the CORE must be malfunctioning. I’ll send a map to your phone and—Uh… Hold on. I-I’m getting a call.”

She hung up.

Ammy glanced around the area and turned right back around.

“What about Alphys?” Chara asked.

“Bruff ark!”

“I guess.”

The phone rang again. Alphys stated, “Hey, about those vents? W-well, someone I know is helping me handle it! You should probably… um… go talk to everyone stuck there! A goddess like you, it would be a great boost to morale! Even if they don’t know you’re a god!”

The phone hung up again.

“…That was frustrating. But I guess it is a bit late. A lot really happened today,” muttered Chara.

Ammy rejoined the monsters as they all started settling with their MTT brand sleeping bags, blankets, and pillows. She wove herself through the crowd, tiptoeing around the ones already asleep or falling asleep, and found a spot next to Sans’s sentry stand. She settled herself in the dirt and curled up into a ball. Chara sat down and lied against her stomach. They stared up at the dark ceiling. Their eyes closed gently, and they blocked out the memories that faded into their mind. Slowly, steadily, Chara felt themself drifting away. The fur below their hands went cool and damp like grass. They could almost feel the soft warmth of sunlight….

But Asriel.

Chara made themself sit up. They looked around and found a couple monsters huddled around Ammy as if she were a giant plush doll and a large glittery blanket draped over the group. Sans, they noted, was absent. The child stood up and walked around to the other side of the sentry station. There, huddled under the station with only a pillow, was Sans. He seemed to be genuinely asleep, likely from the same peaceful aura that drew other monsters to Ammy. A cellphone in his hands blinked with an unread message. Chara leaned in close to the phone.

[GOTCHA! GOOD LUCK ON YOUR NIGHT SHIFT!]

Below that one was another message.

[Keep an eye on things while I’m fixing this puzzle. Call me if something happens. Don’t engage.]

And then one more, this one half concealed from the scroll.

[Could you send me the weekly report tomorr … ]

They moved away from Sans, then left for the farthest spot from the crowd and sat down.

Hours passed, and they never moved.


	7. Another Medium

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An interesting situation has arisen in eastern Hotland.
> 
> Or at least as interesting as the camera makes it.

Ammy woke up early and carefully wormed her way out of the pile of monsters that used her as a pillow throughout the night. She waited for Chara to catch up and climb onto her back before heading onward.

The vents were back to normal.

She analyzed the different vents and their paths. Then she jumped onto a chosen vent and allowed herself to be carried away to the westward platform. She walked on for a while.

Finally, they came upon another intersection, but lasers blocked off each of the four pathways. Dozens of mirrors reflected two blue laser beams into zigzagged patterns. Some monsters were already at the different sides analyzing how to solve this puzzle. They barely acknowledged Ammy in their pre-coffee daze and only started paying attention to her when she started tilting one of the adjustable mirrors. When Ammy finished tilting the mirror to her upper left, the other monsters started recalculating the puzzle. Then, one by one, other monsters approached the other adjustable mirrors and moved them according to their own conclusions. With only a little bit of correction, the lasers were redirected into a lovely pattern of arches without blocking any walking traffic.

Everyone moved on without a word to each other. Ammy continued westward until she reached one of the large elevators. With direction from Chara, Ammy tapped on a button. She sat down and waited as the elevator moved on from one floor to another. There was no music—only the droning noise of the elevator’s gears and pullies.

With a ding, the doors opened, and Ammy walked out.

A wide corridor stretched beyond her, and the very end was roped off and guarded by a monster in a black suit and shades. There were a few monsters standing around outside the rope. To the side, a lone pastry stand sat patiently for customers.

The elevator dinged again and a few more monsters joined the growing group. Ammy finally walked forward to join them, but when she approached, the smell of baked spiders drew her to the stand nearby.

At the stand, a short spider monster in finery tended to the fresh donuts, croissants, and cider. Other monsters avoided eye contact, and she, in turn, paid them no heed. However, when Ammy approached, she turned her gaze to the wolf and smiled sweetly.

“Would you care for a donut?” she said in a light, childlike voice. “We currently have a deal for all audience members in the upcoming MTT interview!”

Ammy paused in thought, and then she pulled out a giant bag of coins. The spider monster narrowed her eyes in suspicious contempt and opened the bag to examine the coins. Her suspicions gave way to shock.

“These…! I see.” She bowed deeply. “Thank you for your patronage! With your generous donation, we may be within reach of our goal! Let me get you your purchase.”

She slid a box of a dozen spider donuts.

Ammy took the box without complaint. She left the spider monster behind to count the gold coins and sat down in a corner where she grazed on the donuts one by one.

Chara finally asked, “Why does a god need money?”

“Mmm.”

“Why do you carry it around then? Isn’t money supposed to be the root of all evil to humans?”

Ammy began to explain.

“I don’t care about the details.”

She huffed at them in response.

After an hour, the group grew into a crowd. Some started buying the donuts despite the steep price. At least two people stepped on Ammy’s tail, and Chara decided to sit on Ammy’s back to keep people from passing through them. When the noise from the conversations surrounding them became too much, a guard from beyond the rope barrier announced, “The MTT Morning Interview is about to begin! Please enter the studio in a calm, single-file line!”

The crowd pressed itself into a tight line. Ammy found herself standing on her shaky back legs and ultimately leaning against a large rock in front of her. The line slowly inched forward. The rock, thankfully, put up no protest to being used as Ammy’s support. What seemed like an eternity passed before she could finally set her front paws down and walk to an available seat on the third row and close to the door. She pulled out her last donut and offered it to the rock next to her.

“Oh. No, thank you. It’s fine,” said the rock.

Hearing that, Ammy finished the donut herself.

“Lovelies and Beauties!” said a voice from the intercom. “Please put your talons together for the MTT Morning Show!”

The stage lights turned on and lit up the entire stage. Sitting at a high quality desk was a square robot with a large screen for a face. The robot straightened a small stack of papers in its hands before announcing, “Welcome to the MTT Morning Show with your marvelous host Mettaton! First thing’s first, our charity of the week!”

A picture of a sad-looking spider appeared on Mettaton’s face screen.

“For hundreds of years, our spider clans have been divided from each other by the harsh cold of Snowdin and the locked door in the Ruins. Each year is a struggle to gather enough funds to meet their next goal post. With your help, they can be reunited! Please speak with Muffet at the spider donut stand for donations and further details.”

Then the screen switched to solid yellow. “And now for our program—and today has a very special guest! But not nearly as special as our wonderful viewers and live audience!”

The camera operator swept the camera across the audience as everyone cheered before turning back to Mettaton.

Once the cheering subsided, the robot continued, “Our guest for today’s show is a tough and tumble monster of action with a thirst for justice and a soft heart for the innocent. She is the most popular monster in this studio (besides me, of course)! Please welcome our guest, Captain Undyne of Waterfall!”

The entire audience cheered and clapped with thunderous applause as Undyne walked onto the studio stage with a grin that could barely conceal just how flustered this situation made her. Over all of the noise, one single voice boomed “YEAH! UNDYNE! WOOO!”

Chara and Ammy craned their necks forward to look at the person shouting the loudest. After spotting him, Chara said, “Is that Papyrus? When did he get here? I didn’t see him at all!”

Undyne spotted Papyrus at the front row and gave him a genuine smile. She sat down in the red loveseat next to Mettaton’s desk. The two of them settled in their seats as they waited for the cheering to die down.

“Welcome! Welcome! And welcome to you, Captain Undyne! How goes this fine morning?”

Undyne replied, “I woke up, did my morning exercises, and came straight here.”

“Charmingly blunt as always! Let’s get this show started.” Mettaton pulled out the first paper of the stack he held. “I could ask you about what inspired you to become the big buff fish we all love, but that would be boring and cliché! No, the viewers want to know the juicy stuff.” He tossed that page behind him, leaned his elbows against the nice desk, and asked, “My sources tell me that you disappear for a full week once a month! Just what is a fine, single fish like you doing during that time?”

Undyne looked at him uneasily. “That’s just me patrolling the outer tunnels.”

“The outer tunnels? Do explain to our viewers what the outer tunnels are.”

“Well, it’s, uh, tunnels that are outside of the normal caves we live in.” She glanced between the camera, the audience, and Mettaton as she explained, “Sometimes they get really close to the surface, and sometimes they’re so deep underground that they’re too dangerous for monsters. But they’re all out of the way and not very habitable so no one really stays there unless they’re patrolling.”

“Do you find anything?”

Undyne shrugs. “Rocks… New ore veins… Sometimes clean water… Human bodies…”

“What was that last one?”

“Clean water?”

“The human bodies.”

“Oh that.” She waves a hand to the side as she said, “They’re just really unlucky human hikers. They aren’t warriors or anything like that. Every single one I’ve found died from falling off wherever they fell.”

“And yet we don’t have any souls from those humans. Why is that?”

“The souls either shatter before we find them or they shatter along the way to the capital. No one wins. It’s just a waste of life from some really bad luck.”

“You sound almost sympathetic.”

Undyne huffed at him, “Don’t get the wrong idea! I’ll fight a human any day! But you look at a person in that kind of shape and tell me you don’t feel a little sorry for how they died!”

Mettaton tossed another sheet of paper. “Moving on. Snowdin has a local holiday called Amnesty Festival coming up in the next week. Do you plan on spending it with a special someone?”

“Nope.”

Mettaton stared. “…Give me something to work with.”

“I’m not!” Undyne said, “My job is to just stand to the side and make sure the tree doesn’t catch on fire while everyone’s having fun!”

“That seems very counterproductive considering you set your own house on fire every month or two.”

Undyne stood up and glared at the robot. “You wanna fight, you square tin can?!”

“Oh no, don’t honor me with a fight! Maybe someone in the audience would!”

She turned towards the audience. “WHO WANTS TO FIGHT?!”

“I do! I do!”

She pointed at the person and shouted, “MK! YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE IN CLASS! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!”

Silence.

She marched up to the camera, grabbed it, and aimed it to where her face would be front and center. “KIDS! STAY IN SCHOOL! YOU GET SMART AND STRONG IN SCHOOL! _DON’T SKIP!_ ”

Mettaton calmly said, “Please, let go of the camera and sit down.”

After a bit of struggling, the crew finally managed to get Undyne to sit back down in the loveseat. Mettaton looked at the papers again before listing off the next question.

“Another one. Who is your crush?”

Silence.

Undyne narrows her eyes at him. “None of your business.”

“Oh! That means there _is_ someone! You just have to—”

“ _AIMAI SAN-SENCHI SORYA PUNI—_ ” blared a sudden ringtone.

Mettaton laughed awkwardly and pulled out the cellphone that screamed some kind of anime theme song. “Pardon the interruption. So rude of me!”

“Why do you have a cellphone?” she asked.

“This is my backup. My primary is on silent.” His fist crushed the phone and the ringtone cut off immediately. “But I don’t need it right now. So… who is your crush?”

Her blue face flushed red. “Why is this improv?! Shouldn’t these questions be pre-approved?”

“That’s not how humans do it.”

“Not how humans do it my ass! Isn’t that the script in your hands?!” She snatched the papers out of Mettaton’s hands and took one look at them. She gasped, “It’s blank?!”

Mettaton took the papers back and tossed them all haphazardly into the air. “That’s right! Each page is blank! The only rules are my rules! Now it’s time for our next segment! The obstacle course!”

“What?! You never told me about an obstacle course!”

He replied, “Of course not. That would ruin the twist.”

The back wall of the studio lowered down to reveal a small obstacle course. At the start was a thick wall of vines that blocked the way to a water tunnel with a ring of plastic keys floating at the top. The tunnel led to a steep rock wall followed by a drop into a pool of foam cubes. At the end of was a door with two padlocks: one made of plastic and another made of foam. A timer above the entire obstacle course stayed paused at 60 seconds.

While Undyne turned her face back and forth between Mettaton and the obstacle course, Mettaton announced, “Here is the obstacle course! You’re going to go through the vines, under the water, grab the plastic keys, climb up the rock wall, dive into the foam pool, grab the foam key, and unlock both locks!”

“Are you serious?!”

“You have 60 seconds.”

“You really are serious.”

“What?” He asked, “Are you not up to the challenge?”

She glared at him. “Start the timer.”

A buzzer shrieked through the studio and Undyne took off. She tore and pushed her way through the vines until she finally yanked a tangled leg out of the thick bundles, one torn vine wrapped around the once-trapped leg, and dove into the water. She caught the keys with ease and started the rock wall after only two seconds in the tunnel. A vine caught on one of the rocks on her way up. She tugged at the vine and dislodged the rock the vine was stuck on.

The timer went down to 49 seconds when she jumped off the rock wall.

Undyne dove off the rock wall and disappeared into the foam cube pit. Cubes started flying different directions, then nothing for a second…

She burst through the foam on the other side of the pit with a giant foam key and hurried to the door. The foam padlock fell first and immediately. She fumbled for a bit with the plastic keys….

The second padlock fell and she burst through the door. The buzzer shrieked again and the timer stopped at 38 seconds. The entire audience screamed in excitement with Papyrus cheering the loudest. Undyne returned to the studio and started flexing.

Mettaton approached with a mic. "One last question to top off our interview. Rumor has it that you are next in line for the throne should something happen to King Asgore. Is that true? Are you an official heir to King Asgore?"

When the mic got pointed to her face, Undyne gently pushed the mic down, gave Mettaton a smile, and said, "Go to hell."

The only thing that could be heard for a minute then was the cheering as they stared at each other.

Then, over an intercom system, Mettaton stated, “That concludes this morning’s interview. See you next time, gentle beauties!”

The studio went dark and the audience started filing out.

Ammy walked outside and stopped just a few feet away from where the crowd gathered to talk.

Chara pointed out, “Papyrus was there! We could say hi. I mean, Undyne’s probably busy with stuff after the interview, so—”

“ _AMATERASU! I SAW YOU! I’M GONNA KICK YOUR ASS!_ ”

“Never mind. Let’s go.”

Ammy managed to get to the elevator by the time Undyne wormed her way through the tight crowd. The elevator doors opened and Undyne bolted after her. She pressed a button without thought as Undyne made it a quarter of the way there. The elevator lingered as Undyne made it halfway there. The doors started closing as Undyne made it three quarters there. They finally closed as Undyne nearly reached her hand out to stop the doors.

The elevator started moving as Undyne’s roar of fury made it through the doors, albeit muffled.


	8. CORE Approach

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time to face the truth.

AN: Sorry for the delay!

 

* * *

  

The elevator came to a stop and let out on a path lined with dark bricks. The gems above were illuminated like bright stars despite the time of day, and the low lighting on the ground was perfect for stolen kisses and heartfelt solos. The massive crowd chattering in worried tones ruined that a little.

Ammy wormed her way through the crowd, following the stream of people until the dark room turned bright with gold and pink. She raised her nose into the air and sniffed.

People.

She pushed onward, slowly yet firmly. She had to reach some sort of space before long—

A ledge caught Ammy’s foot and she fell face-first into a shallow pool of water. She pulled her head out of the water and finally noticed the fountain with a statue of Mettaton at the center. Ammy turned to Chara helplessly.

Chara gave Ammy a shrug and equally confused face. “All of this appeared after I died.”

An elevator kept dinging over and over again in time with the crowd’s movements. Ammy pushed back into the crowd and—

“Oof!”

She bumped into a monster that was just sitting on the floor. She noticed a sleeping bag before the crowd swept her away and into someone else.

“Ow! Watch it!”

This time she noticed granola bars before the crowd pulled her away again.

At last, Ammy regained her footing and broke free of the crowd into a hallway. She and Chara glanced about them at the furnishings and the long line of numbered doors.

Her phone started ringing and Ammy answered. She heard Alphys’s voice over the line.

“Y-You’re at MTT Hotel! That’s… actually really convenient! It’s connected to the CORE, the geothermal power plant that powers the entire underground. It’s this complex structure that takes advantage of the earth’s natural power and—oh… wait, n-no you wouldn’t be interested… in the specifics. An-anyway! If you head into the CORE, there should be a manual emergency shut down switch. If you hit that… I can reboot it from my computer, and then all of the puzzles will reset. Everything will be back to normal! Everyone will love you then!”

Ammy brought up the phone projector and selected the camera. It timed for a second and then flashed as she pointed towards the crowd. After a few more taps, the picture sent to Alphys’s phone.

“…O-oh. You might have to wait until everyone starts falling asleep. And I think the rooms would… be booked. All of them. But! Um! We could watch this anime I really like! It’s called Mew Mew Kissy Cutie! It only has 52 episodes, but that just makes it easy to marathon! We could… We could watch it… if you want!”

Ammy glanced back at the crowd and then barked a yes.

Alphys gasped at the other end. “Then let me set up your phone so you can project it on the wall! I just need remote access! Hold on!”

The phone’s projection disappeared. Alphys’s claws tapped impatiently, whether on the desk or on a touch pad, Ammy couldn’t tell. Then, suddenly, the projector turned back on and displayed a computer desktop. As Ammy moved to project it on the wall, a little glittery pink curser clicked on one of the countless icons on the desktop and opened up the first episode of Mew Mew Kissy Cutie.

Ammy and Chara lied down side-by-side. As they watched the episodes, Chara would glance over at Ammy’s face, fidget a little, and go back to watching. Every now and then, Alphys would ask what Ammy thought of something before rambling her own feelings. Occasionally, monsters from the main lobby stepped around or over Ammy for the spacious hallway, searching for a spot to wait out the crowd.

The power shut down.

Ammy turned the projection off and looked around. The only light came from other monsters’ phones. Confused mutters echoed in the hallway.

The lights flickered back on. Monsters sighed in relief and returned to their own business.

Ammy’s phone rang.

“Th-The CORE!” Alphys cried, “Something is wrong with the CORE! The virus m-must have.... You have to hurry!”

Ammy pulled Chara onto her back and pushed through the dense crowd in the lounge. She took a right and kept pushing until her nose bumped into a counter.

Chara stood up and peered over the crowd. “…This is a fast food place,” they said.

Ammy huffed in frustration and turned back once Chara sat back down. She continued her original path for a little longer before turning right again. The crowd broke immediately and she fell onto a dark bridge. A warm wind blew across the area. Ahead was a steel door with a yellow notice light blinking to its side.

Over the phone, Alphys stated, “That’s a maintenance entrance. Give me a second. I’ll unlock the door.”

A click echoed from the door. Ammy trotted across the bridge and pushed it open.

Pitch blackness.

Alphys asked, “Amaterasu? Are you in the CORE?”

“Bark!”

“I-I think the security cameras are out…. My… my monitor isn’t picking up anything!”

“Boof!”

“The lights are out? How? The CORE’s lights are connected to an emergency generator! Let me try to turn on the lights.”

Ammy pulled out her flamed reflector, but then she paused. Her nose twitched. She bowed her head to the ground and took in an unexpected scent. She took in a deep breath, and then she released it.

Chara furrowed their eyebrows in confusion. “What is it? Is someone up ahead?”

Through the phone, Alphys said, “It’s not… letting me do anything. I… I’m going to the CORE myself. Stay right there. It looks like I’ll have to manually reboot it.”

Then she hung up.

After a moment of waiting, Ammy walked through the dark corridors. None of the lights, lasers, or puzzles were on, and whenever she turned a corner and found the mix of magic and magma below that fueled the CORE glowing brightly, the light never reached the floor she walked. Only her nose guided her way.

Eventually, she found herself in a single room tucked away from all paths. A large generator hummed with energy and barely illuminated the room with a few button lights on the engine’s body. Between it and Ammy stood a lone figure barely identifiable from what little light was cast.

“…Take off that headset. We’re talking one-on-one.”

Ammy calmly brushed off the headset. Chara questioned, “Undyne?! What is she doing here?”

“Mettaton told me about that little game you’re playing with Alphys.” Contempt dripped from her words. “There’s a lot I could say about him, but he gets his priorities straight when he gets his head out of his… circuit breaker, I guess. We both know Alphys. She’s got a lot of insecurities making life extra hard for her. I wish I could just love the depression away but that’s not how it works! So I keep an eye out. For people like _you._ ”

Undyne continued, “People like _you_ who would take advantage of people like her who are so desperate for affection that they would look for it anywhere in any way! Reactivating the puzzles and messing with the CORE so everyone’s lives would be messed up until you swoop in to save the day… You’re trying to pad out your worshiper count through her! To think I was going to just let Asgore deal with you! He’s strong enough to take on anyone! But you crossed the line!”

A blue spear materialized in her hand. “I’m ending this right here, right now. I won’t let you take advantage of another innocent person—”

“WAIT!”

Alphys rushed into the room with a flashlight in hand. She pointed it at Undyne and asked, “Wh-wh-what are you doing here?! I thought y-you went out on patrol!”

Undyne didn’t answer for a second, and then she went, “Oh yeah, the lights.” She turned around, pressed a button, and the generator buzzed with activity. A second passed, and then all of the lights in the CORE turned back on. She turned back to Alphys, jabbed her spear towards Ammy, and said, “I’m stopping Amaterasu once and for all! I know what she’s doing!”

Alphys’s claws turned and twisted the flashlight in her hands. “Wh-why?! She’s just… helping me!”

“No she’s not! Mettaton told me everything!”

Her face dropped. “Ev… Everything…?”

Undyne gave a stern nod. “How she got you to reactivate the puzzles and mess with the CORE? Yeah, he told me. He told me how you asked him to help too. But you don’t have to! You have your real friends here! You don’t need a god who uses people!”

“Uses…?” Alphys shrunk a little.

“So come on! Forget about Amaterasu! You have me! And Catty and Bratty and Sans and Papyrus! And even Mettaton! You don’t have to make yourself do things for other people’s approval.”

“B-but that’s not—”

“I’ll call everyone up and we’ll all marathon Mew Mew Kissy Cutie together. I’ll pick up some snail ice cream while we wait on everyone.”

“ _Undyne!_ ”

Alphys gasped for breath as the entire room fell silent. She swallowed and forced out, “That’s… not really how… it happened. Amaterasu didn’t do anything. I’m the one in the wrong.”

Undyne shot the most disgusted glare at Ammy and snarled—

“I AM!” Alphys shouted, “By the time Amaterasu left your house, I already turned on all the puzzles! I lied to her and said that a virus hacked into the system and asked her to fix everything! She had no idea!”

Undyne’s glare softened considerably when she turned it towards Alphys. “Is that really true? You’re really not just covering for her?”

“It’s all true.” Alphys stated, “I tried to push her to show her more godly side but she never did, even when she was in a huge crowd. She really did just want to help. I’m… the one who did wrong.”

Her glare disappeared completely, replaced by a heavyhearted frown. “Alphys…”

“I understand if you hate me, but… don’t hate her. She was just as unaware as you in all this. I thought that maybe…” Alphys sniffed. “Maybe we could have a god down here helping us keep hope. Being trapped down here or facing another war isn’t great for morale. We need someone like her.”

Undyne slowly approached. “Alphys… Alphys, it’s okay.”

Alphys shook her head. “No, it’s not. My motives don’t excuse my actions. But you deserve to know the truth. I—”

She backed away. Tears streaked down her face. “ _I’m sorry!_ ”

Alphys ran out.

Undyne stood there in complete shock, and then she raced after her. “ALPHYS, WAIT!”

Neither Ammy nor Chara said anything. They stood in that same spot for a while. Undyne and Alphys’s voices faded into the distance. The power in the CORE remained constant.

Ammy finally moved on. She sniffed the air beyond the door and followed a scent trail to an elevator nearby. She pressed the button, walked in, pressed a button labeled “castle”, and sat down as the elevator pulled them far away.

Chara dismounted and stood by Ammy’s side. Even though a long time passed, their legs never ached.

“None of this is going to matter once I get home,” they said. “Asriel and I will get to play all day and it’ll be as if nothing happened.”

Ammy turned her head towards them.

“I don’t care. Alphys doesn’t matter. Asriel matters. Everything will be worth it once we’re back together again.”

Still, they seemed unsure.

A while passed. Chara started fidgeting in place.

“Auuhhn?” asked Ammy.

“It’s nothing.”

A pause.

“…Okay, it’s not nothing. Just some of the things Alphys and Undyne said… They’re sort of…”

They sighed. “I did something very bad. I did something very, very bad. I wanted to do something good, but the worst-case scenario happened anyway. …No. It might be worse.”

They swallowed and asked, “Can you… ask Dad what’s going on? For me? All I really know is that other humans fell down and they got killed and Dad wants a war against humans. Dad couldn’t hurt innocent people. …Could he?”

Chara stared into Ammy’s eyes, but then they turned away.

“…Asriel and I… we weren’t… I wasn’t… Not anyone innocent. Dad wouldn’t kill anyone innocent.”


	9. Asgore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The king awaits, surrounded by nothing but golden flowers.

The elevator stopped. Chara climbed back up on Ammy’s back, and together they walked out. Before them, a long path stretched out above the city of New Home. Below, monsters of all shapes, sizes, and species walked along the countless streets. They all looked tiny from where Ammy and Chara stood.

With the path ahead long, Ammy ran down the entire way. The path twisted around to the very end of the massive cave where the castle stood. It dropped Ammy off at a side door of the castle. She moved towards the door.

“Wait.” Chara pointed to a gravel trail lined with golden flowers. “Go that way.”

She followed the gravel trial into a massive garden with fruit trees, shrubbery, and flowers. The trail branched off into new trails circling through the garden and back around the main pathway. Golden flowers were everywhere.

Finally, the trail ended at a cozy little home with a large flourishing tree before it.

Chara leapt off Ammy’s back and ran into the home, shouting, “ _Asriel!_ ”

Ammy walked up to the door and knocked.

The door opened with a creak. There, towering above Ammy, stood Asgore. His head bowed low to face her, and he gave her a soft smile. “Howdy!” His voice, while deep, kept to soft tones. “I was told you would be here, but I did not expect you to be here so soon. Please, come in.”

Ammy walked in to a warm home. Just as Chara said back in the ruins of Home, the house was identical to Toriel’s, except every spare spot had yellow flowers in a vase. Asgore closed the door behind her and escorted her to the living room to the left.

Asgore said, “I was just preparing a nice soup. It was my hope that we could be joined by others, but just the two of us is fine.”

“ _ASRIEL!_ ”

She looked back towards the hallway where Chara ran from room to room.

“I must wonder why you came.” Asgore asked, “Did you come here because of the barrier?”

She nodded.

“So what Gerson told me is correct.” His smile stretched thin. “…I wish you arrived sooner.”

There was no answer.

He moved over to a closet and pulled out two large floor pillows. The pillows were simple solid colors with no patterns, one dark blue and the other yellow. He set them in the middle of the living room across from each other.

“ _Asriel, where are you?!_ ”

“Please, make yourself comfortable. I will attend to dinner,” he said before leaving for the kitchen.

Ammy lied down on the blue cushion set out for her. She heard Chara run throughout the house, crying and crying out for Asriel. Their voice carried far and yet completely unheard.

Asgore came back with two low bowls filled with soup and gently set one down for her. “Here. Your journey through the underground must have been long.”

She sniffed at the soup. It smelled mildly of fish and lemon.

He said, “To think everyone’s suffering is finally coming to an end, and by your actions, too.”

Between sips, she reminded him the barrier still stands.

He bowed his head. “True, you have yet to break the barrier. It is too soon to celebrate. But… I want to reflect on some things before we proceed to the throne room.”

Chara wandered into the living room. Their eyes lingered downward before they called out once more. “Asriel! Please! Come out!”

Asgore continued, “It is for the best that anyone other than myself break the barrier. The things I have done… My actions are unforgivable.”

They turn towards Asgore. “…Dad?”

“I killed six humans and stole their souls.”

Chara recoiled. “What? No!”

He stared into his bowl with empty eyes. “Others justify what I did with the same excuses: ‘They killed people,’ ‘We need their soul more,’ ‘Their death won’t be in vain.’ But I know. They were just children who wanted to go home.”

Ammy questioned him.

Asgore looked up from his bowl and stared into the goddess’s eyes. Then he turned away. “I… I declared war on humans. After Asriel’s death, I felt so angry. Even after centuries, they still see us as nothing more than violent creatures to kill and they proved that by killing my son. I wanted to do to them what they had done to me and to all monsterkind, but the barrier had to come down first. And so I declared that every human who fell into the underground be killed for their soul.”

Chara stared in horror. “No…! This isn’t real!”

“Even the first human whose soul I collected… I blamed them for Asriel’s death.” He sighed. “I even blamed all humankind for Chara’s death. If not for that barrier, I could have gotten them proper treatment for that poisoning.”

“How did he—”

“An ‘illness’ that lasted only a day? No. That was suicide.”

Chara vigorously shook their head. “No, Dad, no! I’m sorry!”

Asgore’s voice trembled as he said, “But Chara’s death was not the fault of any human. Their death was my own fault. I should have raised them like any other child. If not for the pressure I put on them as ‘the future of monsters and humans,’ then they might have lived to old age. I accepted my part in their death.”

They ran towards Asgore and reached out, even though their hands could never touch anything. “No, it’s not your fault! It’s mine! My death was my own fault!”

“I cannot accept Asriel’s death, however.” He said, “No matter how I try, I cannot forgive humans for what was done to my people and my son. Once the barrier is broken and monsters safely return to the surface, I will remain here.”

“But…”

Asgore smiled sadly. “Besides, someone must take care of these flowers.”

Silence fell. Asgore returned the empty soup bowls to the kitchen. When he returned, a butterscotch pie sat close to his pillow.

He stopped at the sight of the pie. His face twisted into a pained grimace as he choked back tears. “She is alive…! I suspected as much, but a couple of the humans who fell down here were particularly violent. I could never be certain.”

Ammy pushed the pie a little closer to him.

Asgore shook his head. “No. That pie was a gift for you. She would never want me to have it.”

She stared expectantly at him.

He moved towards the stairs and motioned for her to follow. “We delayed long enough. I will show you the quickest way through.”

She walked to the entrance of the living room, but then she stopped and turned towards Chara, where the child still remained.

After a moment, Chara said, “You go on ahead. I… need to stay here. Asriel might come back.”

She lingered.

“Amaterasu?” called Asgore.

Finally, she left.

Asgore lead her to a bridge that stretched far. A secure fence covered in vines lined the entire bridge. While the cavern chasm stretched high above them, the mountain still covered the top and obscured any view of the sky above.

The bridge ended at a wide tunnel made of white bricks with more vines climbing along the walls. The tunnel itself was lit with bright lights on the ceiling. Every few lights or so, vines blocked the lights above, casting a shadow below. Passages leading downward opened up along the tunnel, connecting the path to New Home. At the end was another elevator where the vines were carefully trimmed to prevent them from growing over the elevator door.

The tunnel opened up to an enormous hallway with columns and towering stained glass windows. Sunlight poured into the hall in a multicolor spectacle. Each stained glass window showed a different monster, a battle, or even a location. Ammy found herself lingering at each of the windows. The light that shone through cast a vast array of colors upon her, turning her normally white fur into a colorful marvel.

Asgore waited patiently for her to catch back up. When she eventually returned to his side, he said, “Lovely, are they not? The mountain opens up around here, and when we found this place, we decided to create this hallway and all of the windows you see. Each window represents a different part of monster history. These windows show a more general history.”

He stopped before the last stained glass window. His eyes gazed into the distance as he stared at this one, and then he moved onward. He said, “I thought Asriel’s window would be of his coronation.”

The two continued on, through a short passage, and into the throne room. Light from the sunset streamed into the room through clear windows. Vines and golden flowers grew everywhere. The air smelled strongly of the flowers and damp earth. A single throne stood in the middle of it all, shimmering in the sunset.

Asgore walked past it all for a doorway in the back. “This way,” he said.

Ammy followed him into a cavern corridor. It stopped only a few paces away.

The barrier hummed with power. It breathed and pulsed with the wishes of humans centuries dead. Ammy placed her paw up against the barrier and felt no give. Whispers of fear and hate echoed in her ears. Her eyes glazed over from thought.

Asgore asked, “Can you break the barrier?”

She glanced between him and the barrier and took a couple steps back. She swapped her fiery mirror for Tsumugari. With all her strength, with all her speed, she charged at the barrier with the blue glaive.

The glaive’s blade jabbed at the barrier without leaving even a nick. Ammy pushed the blade more and more. Finally, the tip of the blade steadily dug into the barrier.

The humming turned into a loud shriek. The hatred and willpower washed over Ammy. Vein-like cracks formed from the puncture. Tsumugari dug deeper and deeper—

Power threw Ammy down the corridor. Tsumugari clattered to the floor. The cracks in the barrier healed over, leaving no trace behind.

Asgore stood in silence. His jaw hung open and his eyes, wide, stared at the barrier. Slowly, his face twisted into anguish. He turned away from Ammy and the barrier.

“I… I need to think.”

Ammy got back onto her feet and retrieved Tsumugari. She approached the barrier again. Her paw reached up and scraped at it.

Asgore stated, “Your power alone was not enough. But, with another soul, perhaps your power would be enough.”

She turned towards him and found the king staring at her with grim resolution. He moved back to the barrier and waved his hand over the ground.

Six glass tubes rose from the ground. Within each one was a human soul.

Asgore said, “We have two options: You can take one soul—monster or human—and use the combined power to break the barrier, or you can give up your soul to me and I will use that power to break the barrier. To do nothing is not open for consideration.”

Ammy’s fur stood up on end.

“If you will not use a human soul, then you must use a monster soul.”

She growled at him.

“You won’t? Do you understand what this means?” he asked. “We must fight.”

She shook her head.

“Unless you wish to wait until another human falls, there is no other choice. We must fight and end all monsters’ suffering once and for all.”

She shook her head more vigorously.

“Should I survive, I will use your soul to break the barrier and return the lives I stole from those humans. Should you survive, promise me you will break the barrier.”

Ammy barked at him.

Asgore’s expression didn’t waver. “Hasty? Perhaps, but why would you, a god, come here to free us and expect to do nothing after failing that? Do not abandon us to this prison! Now step forward and fight me!”

He drew in a deep breath, and fire spewed out and engulfed the cramped area. Ammy dashed out into the throne room with smoke streaming from her tail. He burst through the dying flames with a trident gleaming blue. The trident stabbed through Ammy where she stood still, passing through her harmlessly. He drew his trident back. The magic switched to orange and slammed into her.

Ammy crashed into the throne. She quickly flipped over it and ducked as more fire poured over her cover. She dashed for the entrance.

Fire erupted at the throne room’s entrance. Without stopping, without hesitating, she circled around and charged at Asgore.

Tsumugari and the trident rang out as they parried.

Asgore twisted his trident, locking Tsumugari, and threw Ammy’s blade aside. With the same momentum, the trident swung back around.

The fiery reflector shot up and bounced the trident away. While Asgore staggered back, the reflector swung and sliced through his armor. She stepped closer and swung again and again—

He snatched Ammy off the ground by her throat with one hand.

The Celestial Brush slashed at Asgore’s arm, forcing him to drop her. Before he could grab her again, Ammy leapt back and circled the room once more with the mirror ready.

He blocked her reflector and raised his trident. Suddenly, pain stabbed through his body from his hands to his feet. He found himself on the ground with ringing ears. Several thoughts ran through his mind until he settled on one.

Lightning.

Asgore turned his eyes to Amaterasu, who watched him a few paces away.

Amaterasu, the goddess.

Asgore picked up his trident again and charged.

Ammy easily jumped over him, but before she landed, walls of flames rushed at her from both sides and slammed into her. She tumbled out of the fire—

The trident slashed again and again, coating in a different magic each time Ammy tried to dodge or stay still.

Vines snapped out of the ground and snatched the trident. More snatched Asgore’s arms, torso, and one of his horns and pulled him backwards.

Ammy barked at him.

“No. This needs to end now!” Embers rose from his feet and sparked into a furious blaze. The fire stopped just as suddenly as it began. The vines and flowers beneath him were nothing more than smoldering charcoal.

With a wave of his hand, flames circled around them both and slowly drew closer. He stepped forward and stabbed at Ammy. She jumped away and brought up her reflector to block the trident’s next attack. The reflector flipped around and slashed at Asgore’s legs.

Asgore stomped and backed her away with his fiery breath. He slashed once, twice, and a third time but still Ammy dodged each attack. When she felt the ring of fire enclosing on her, she flipped over it.

His trident stabbed her as soon as her feet touched the ground.

She yelped and leapt away. More rings of fire formed, continuously drawing her closer and closer back to Asgore. As she jumped more and more, the wind twisted around the room. The flames climbed higher with the wind. The wind turned and turned, faster and faster, and the flames stretched higher and higher until they snuffed out.

Asgore got knocked to his knees and clung to the ground as the cyclone shrouded around Ammy fully formed. He stared at her, and Ammy stared back at him with blazing eyes.

Amaterasu, the goddess worshiped by humans.

Asgore drew in a deep breath and a stream of fire shot out into the air. The roaring flames spread throughout the cyclone and quickly engulfed everything.

The wind and fire together drowned out all sounds, covered all things, and burned everything on his body. Together, there was nothing else.

When Asgore felt as though the fire would swallow him as well, the wind and fire finally died down to nothing.

Slowly, Asgore looked around the throne room. The flowers were all burned into nothing but ash. The glass windows were utterly shattered. Scorch marks covered the brick walls. His own throne was ruined with the gold tarnished and the cushions still smoldering with dim embers. Toriel’s own throne suffered just as his did. Anything that could burn away was gone.

Ammy slowly approached him. Her fur was patchy and black from burns, just like Asgore’s. She stopped before him and sat down.

With a thin voice, he said, “The day after my son died, the underground was devoid of hope. Some hope returned after I declared war on humans, but when my wife left the throne and disappeared, that hope diminished. After so long with only me on the throne, I fear what may happen to my people after my death. Please, do not let them continue to suffer for my crimes. Take my soul and break the barrier.”

Ammy pressed her head against his and spoke.

Asgore’s face slowly changed to a wavering smile. “…You would rather be down here in this prison with us than rejoin the heavens?”

He said, “Amaterasu, I promise you I will end this war. Tonight, I will address the entire kingdom and admit my guilt. There will be people who will be angry at my decision, but we as a people will be happier and healthier. I pray that you watch over my people from here on, and together, with our hearts beating as one, we will tear down the barrier forever.”

Ammy snuggled closer, and Asgore hugged her tightly as tears started to flow freely.

Pain—agonizing pain—burst in her torso as something large stabbed through both Asgore and Ammy. Asgore’s face twisted into horror and, before he could utter another word, he collapsed onto Ammy and dissolved into dust.

The thick vine that stabbed them both pulled away. It dripped with blood and dust.

“ _DAD! NO!_ ”

Flowey wrapped the vine around Ammy and lifted her over him. He gave her a pitying smile as he said, “Aww, that looked painful, O Great Goddess! Shame you didn’t die that easily! Oh well! That just makes things more interesting for me!”

The vine yanked Ammy downward.

“ _AMMY!_ ”


	10. Floweytale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are no such thing as rules, except Flowey's rules.

Nothing but darkness.

Ammy pulled herself up and gasped through the pain. The hole in her chest still bled. Asgore’s dust had long settled in her fur and some mixed with her blood and stuck like dry mud. The floor beneath her feet scratched at her every step, but it didn’t feel like a rough cavern floor.

She drew in a deep breath and howled.

…Something moved.

A bright artificial light turned on. Ammy cringed away while her eyes adjusted.

“Awww! How cute! You were trying to call your friends!” said Flowey. His voice crackled like it came through an old stereo. “But whoever ‘Issun’ and ‘Waka’ are, they can’t reach you here. No one can except me.”

Her eyes finally adjusted, and she could see a large old fashion television with antennas and a cartoon image of Flowey’s face displayed on the screen. The light from it shone out and dimly reflected on things around what was now Flowey’s new head. Some metal. Vines. Thorns.

Flowey chirped, “I have to thank you for your help with Asgore. Without you, I’d never gotten past him! But now, thanks to you?”

The image switched to Asgore’s face from when he died. “He’s dead!”

Back to Flowey’s sneering face. “And I’ve got the human souls!”

He laughed heartily. “I waited for this for so long! Do you realize how aggravating it was to just let you wander around without reloading? Well, except for that one time in Hotland when I found out that gods can, indeed, die. You should have just let me drown you back in Waterfall and I wouldn’t have turned you into a burnt roast!”

“But with all these godlike powers, I am still incomplete… I’m missing a seventh soul! I could just absorb every monster in the underground and get the equivalent of one more human soul, or I could absorb you! Since you’re here already, I think I’ll just jump straight to godhood and kill you permanently. But before I get to killing you, I gotta ask you something.”

Flowey questioned, “Who was that phantom in Asgore’s throne room? I saw them run in right when I killed Asgore. The details were too fuzzy, but I saw what colors their shirt had. You know, don’t you? You know exactly who they are. I could tell you were talking to someone throughout this entire journey of yours. Someone everyone else couldn’t see. Who are they? I have to hear it!”

Ammy stared him down.

“…You won’t tell me, huh?” Flowey smiled at her. “That’s just fine! As soon as I become a complete god, I will be able to see them for myself! Are you ready to die?”

Vines shot through her body before she could react.

 

 

Ammy pulled herself up, ignoring the pain in her chest, and snarled at Flowey’s direction.

He grinned at her. “Oh! I’m sorry! Did I forget to turn on the lights for you?”

The entire room lit up and revealed Flowey’s new form. Six metal tubes framed Flowey’s TV head and fleshy mandibles protruded out from under with its own pair of eyes. A second pair of eyes were embedded in the middle metal tube loops. Two cactus-like arms rested at his sides with giant red thorns for claws. His entire body was held up by thick cord-like vines that connected to more vines that covered the ceiling and more vines that covered the floor. Everywhere else was just more and more vines with countless tiny red thorns. The walls, the ceiling, the floor—everything was covered in vines.

Flowey stretched his arms out. “Aahhh… I missed having arms. Vines really aren’t the same! But I guess you wouldn’t really understand, or would you? I guess something has to control that paintbrush of yours.”

Ammy charged straight for Flowey’s face. She slashed the screen with her reflector, but the stone mirror bounced right off.

Vines from below tangled her feet and yanked her high into the air. Flowey steadied his arms on either side of her. He slammed his palms together with a resounding thud. Blood splattered on his face.

 

 

Ammy pulled herself up and braced herself for another attack. Her ears twitched wildly.

Flowey said, “Do you know how amazing it is to have the power to monologue? I see why so many people do it now! It’s so satisfying! Normally people can’t really afford to monologue without someone using their own distraction to kill them. Do you know how many times I killed Undyne that way? Sometimes when I’m particularly annoyed with her, I just kill someone in front of her, get her to talk about justice, and make rocks fall on her head. She never learns to shut—”

Ammy pulled out her paintbrush. She drew an infinity sign right on Flowey’s face.

The ink smeared like an invisible hand quickly wiped it away.

Time resumed. Flowey stopped talking to give her a smug look.

“Looks like you won’t be using your powers,” he said.

The vines at her feet rose up, and Ammy dashed away. She ducked under Flowey’s right arm to circle around him, and more vines shot up to block her way. With a quick slash, she cut through them.

The vines above went slack and Flowey’s giant body fell backwards. Ammy scrambled out of the way and yelped as the left middle loop narrowly missed her. She climbed over the loop to reach the eye in it. Her teeth gleamed white and ready. She could weather more bullets to—

—reach her destination.

She had to get to Gerson’s house before more monsters came. They would leave her alone once she entered his house.

She left Toriel’s to learn more about monster history. She’s walked this route before. What would be different this time?

Ammy leapt off Flowey’s body and ran away to a safer spot. The memories still lingered.

She wrote all of Gerson’s stories down on her notebooks. When she filled one up, she gave it to him. She wondered if he still kept them.

Ammy supposed some things had to be let go.

A ring of bullets surrounded Ammy and crashed into her. Another ring appeared and she wove her way through. Another ring and another ring appeared again and again but each was dodged.

Flowey drew one arm back and swept it across the entire room. Ammy leapt over it, but she stumbled as her torn up paws landed awkwardly.

He slammed his arms down and gripped the ground tightly. The earth rumbled as Flowey pulled his body across the cave at her. Ammy yelped as she jumped out of the way. The left lower loop caught her as Flowey crushed her against the vines. When he moved, her body fell to the ground.

Try as they might, they couldn’t get up. Asgore’s attacks were too powerful.

The monster king’s rage was especially harsh. He would make sure they suffered the consequences.

If they kept moving forward, they figured they would find a way to get out. That was all they wanted. They didn’t mean to fall down into the underground. They didn’t mean to hurt Toriel’s feelings.

They didn’t mean to kill that first monster they fought.

If they could get up, did they want to get up?

Flowey pulled Ammy’s broken body up with one of his thick claws.

“You look so miserable,” he cooed. “Don’t worry. I’ll make it quick.”

He closed his hand into a tight ball.

 

  

Ammy pulled herself up. A thought came to mind.

Suddenly, a vine pulled her by a back leg up into the air. Finger guns aimed ready for her and fired.

Ammy quickly slashed one with her paintbrush. The others she couldn’t block sent her flying in the air.

She stopped time for a moment. She felt Flowey’s impatience permeating through the air. Whatever she could draw, Flowey would just smear it.

So she made a single dot just under Flowey’s mandibles.

Just that one dot.

Time resumed.

A great tree shot out of the ground and bashed through Flowey’s mandibles as it rapidly grew. Ammy landed safely as Flowey recoiled from the blow.

Flowey snarled. Bullet bombs materialized and, with just a snap of his claws, raced towards her. Ammy swerved around each bomb, leaving each explosion behind her, and dove for the vines at his base. With her paintbrush, she linked the fire on her reflector weapon to the vines and dashed away before Flowey could mess with her ink.

Fire spread up and across the vines and reached Flowey’s head—

Ammy swerved around each bomb, leaving each explosion behind her, and dove for the vines at his base. A wall of vines shot up and blocked her from reaching him and forced her to retreat.

“It’s not fair!” Flowey shouted. “You can just create things out of thin air with that paintbrush while I’ve got save states! …Wait, I’m a god. I just lit up this room without any lights! Maybe if I—”

She leapt up on his right arm and charged at his face.

“You can’t use the word ‘weapon’ or any word like ‘weapon!’”

She raised up her ______, but nothing happened.

Her _________ was gone!

Flowey shook Ammy off his face. His mandibles stretched wide and a giant blue laser shot out and followed as she fled. When that stopped, he reached out to grab her.

Ammy drew three perpendicular horizontal lines on her body—

Flowey smeared the ink.

When time resumed, Flowey snatched her off her feet. She tried to pull out _________, but the blue ______ didn’t appear. Her ________ didn’t show up either.

He said, “So many weapons you could’ve used… I bet they would all look cool! Too bad you can’t use them!”

Ammy glared at him for a moment.

Flowey chuckled at her, but then he stopped. Horror dawned on him before his face twisted in disgust. He immediately dropped Ammy. “EW EWE EWEWEWEWEW! I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU JUST PEED ON MY HAND! YOU DISGUSTING ANIMAL! EEEWWWWW!”

Ammy climbed up his right side while Flowey focused on wiping his hand.

“I’M GONNA MAKE YOUR NEXT DEATH AS SLOW AND PAINFUL AS POSSIBLE!”

She scrambled up the lower right loop—

They waited for Asgore to stop fighting. They waited and waited and waited.

They told Toriel that Asgore just needed some patience, so they left their plastic knife behind and headed straight for the castle. They avoided every monster until they finally found Asgore tending to a field of golden flowers. Five others came before them, and a long time passed since Asriel’s death.

Maybe with some patience—

Ammy pulled herself up to the eye just above her. The blue soul beat just under that eye. There was some sense of awareness, some kind of urging.

She dove her teeth into his eye.

Flowey screamed just as Asgore roared. Blood on her teeth. Dust on her ballet shoes. Why be kind when he murdered someone so kind—

The memories came to an abrupt end as Flowey ripped Ammy off his blinded eye and crushed her neck against the wall.

  

 

As Ammy got up again, she felt… something.

Flowey’s arms covered his eyes. He snapped, seemingly to himself, “What were you doing?! Gods like her are the reason we’re here! If she did something to save us in the first place, we wouldn’t be dead!”

Then he shouted, “The ground is water!”

The ground under the vines became deep water. The vines at her feet dipped under her weight. She kept moving, but more and more of the vines thinned out until she eventually fell into the water.

Flowey’s claws caught her and held her there. He snarled, “You can’t use the words ‘teeth’ or ‘bite’ or ‘jaws’ or ‘fangs!’”

She brought her paintbrush back up and slashed away the vines in her sight.

“You just try cutting my arms off! You can’t do it!”

She drew a lightning bolt.

Lightning coursed through all the plant matter. She felt Flowey’s thorn claws finally release her and she swam her way back up to the surface.

Flowey punched into the water but missed in his frustration. The force of the punch caused water to go flying everywhere, taking Ammy with it. She used her paintbrush to loop a vine around her to a safer and drier spot—

He smudged the ink completely.

She fell a little further and tried again and attached her vine to Flowey’s left arm. It pulled her through the air and left her on his shoulder before disappearing. She climbed up the first two metal loops, their memories flickering in her mind, before reaching the top left loop.

She brought up her paintbrush again and slashed ink across the entire ground into the shape of a snowflake and let time start again before Flowey could mess it up.

All of the water froze.

Flowey screamed in rage.

She greeted the yellow soul.

He wondered if this is what they all deserved. He thought justice was such a simple concept, but after going through the entire underground, he wasn’t very sure anymore. By the time he reached Asgore, he just didn’t want to fight anymore. The orange soul and blue soul both killed innocent people and the green soul surrendered for the sake of the freedom of monsters, but the aqua soul and purple soul didn’t deserve what happened to them.

He wondered if he should’ve talked to Asgore about it.

He wondered if Asgore would have even let him speak.

Flowey yanked his arms up, completely ripping up the skin of his cactus arms. His head bucked backwards and threw Ammy down. He twisted around and slammed the palm of his claws down at her.

She hopped out of the way and gripped one of his thorns with her mouth.

“Hey! I thought I banned you from the word ‘mouth,’ you cheater!” he said.

She had to reach the green soul. She had to speak to the green soul.

Flowey flicked her off his claws.

If she could just reach the last soul, maybe she could call on them.

“You know what!” He declared, “You’re a statue!”

Ammy became just that.

Flowey panted through his mandibles. No paintbrush appeared. Nothing else happened. Ammy was a statue, still and lifeless.

“It was… It was that easy?” he said. “Wait, can this power affect other save states? Um… You’re going to be a statue after I reset!”

Then he crushed the statue.

 

 

Ammy stayed lying down, completely petrified into stone.

Flowey carefully lifted the statue off the ground and held it at eye level. It stayed a motionless statue.

“I did it,” he said. “I killed a god. Permanently! And her soul is still there for me to take! This was just too easy. Why didn’t I think of this before?”

He gently tapped on the statue’s head. “It’s almost like a little figurine! I wonder if I could keep it after—”

The head snapped off from under his claw.

“Oh. Well, I’ll just…”

 

 

Ammy slowly got up to her feet.

Flowey stared in disbelief. “No… I turned you into a statue _PERMANENTLY!_ YOU WERE A STATUE DURING A RESET!  _HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?!_ ”

Then he huffed, “Then I’ll just reset again! Let’s see if this is just some fluke!”

Nothing happened.

“But… Where did my powers…?” Then his eyes grew wide. “Did the green soul resonate with the others…?”

All six souls appeared in a complete circle around him.

Flowey uttered, “But… You’re supposed to obey me!”

The souls started twisting and turning and spinning around him.

“NO! STOP!”

A loud, audible snap shuddered the very air, and all of the souls disappeared, leaving Flowey’s body to rapidly disintegrate.

“ ** _STOOOOOP!_** ”

Then there was nothing.

Nothing but darkness.

Ammy let herself fall back to the ground.


	11. An Ending

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An empty house

The front door to Asgore’s home opened, and Undyne and Papyrus walked in with folded boxes under each arm. Undyne irritably continued, “He does great work for the king and shit work for everyone else, including you and me? That’s not exactly a good record.”

“I UNDERSTAND. I STILL FIND IT HARD TO BELIEVE HE ACTUALLY WORKED ALL THIS TIME!”

“Working right over my head.” She stopped in the front room and dropped all of her boxes. With a sigh, she said, “I’ll think about it. For now, he works those sentry stations and that hot dog stand of his.”

“YES, MA’AM—OR HIGHNESS? EMPRESS?” Papyrus said as he set down his boxes.

“I don’t even know.” She grumbled, “The line of succession was just hypothetical. No one thought Asgore would actually— _ugh!_ I’m finding that weed demon and I’m killing it!”

“THEY… THEY COULD HAVE CROSSED THE BARRIER,” Papyrus stated.

“Yeah! But we gotta find where it took Amaterasu! The camera footage and Alphys’s scans showed it didn’t cross the barrier with her right then. She could still be in the underground!”

He said with clear hope, “AND WE COULD HELP HEAL HER!”

Undyne flatly said, “I’m more expecting to find her remains and maybe some residue power, but I guess we can hope our quickest ticket out of here is still alive.”

“WHO SAYS WE CAN’T HOPE FOR THE BEST?”

“If she still had that headset, we could’ve traced the signal!” She paused as she looked around the entrance hall.

Papyrus asked, “WHAT DO YOU WANT TO PACK FIRST?”

“I don’t know…” Undyne said, “I want to just… leave most of this house as it is. As a memorial, you know. I can’t _live_ here. It’s not my house.”

“LET’S START WITH STUFF IN THE LIVING ROOM AND GO OVER EACH ITEM ONE AT A TIME,” he suggested.

“That sounds good. Let’s get working.”

They took a couple boxes with them as they moved to the living room. After unfolding one, Undyne went over each book individually and handed them over for Papyrus to pack. Quite a few were dusty from disuse. She stopped, though, at a larger book and opened it up. Pictures of the Dreemurrs smiled up at her.

She snapped, “I can’t believe she left this behind!”

“WHO? OH… THE QUEEN?”

“Ex-Queen.” She opened it up and showed the pictures to Papyrus. “She comes out of her hole to see what’s up and then just leaves this behind? Asriel and Chara were her kids!”

Papyrus frowned as he stated, “YOU’RE BEING REALLY HARSH, UNDYNE.”

Her temper died down. “I just… don’t get her. She abandoned all of her responsibilities to hide out in the Ruins, and then when Asgore finally dies, she comes out to see what she wants and abandons the throne _again!_ ”

“THIS IS UNNECESSARY, UNDYNE. SHE LOOKED REALLY UPSET.”

She looked down for a moment, and then she placed the photo album back on the bookshelf. “…I know. I’ll have Sans keep an eye on her. If she… If she….”

“MAYBE SHE WILL COME BACK OUT ONCE SHE REALIZES YOU’RE A GOOD RULER!”

“I don’t think she will.”

Undyne continued sorting through the books. Most were packed in a box, but a few were left behind on the shelf. The entrance hall closet got packed away as well, with the floor pillows stacked next to the boxes. Next, they moved to the kitchen. Undyne opened the fridge and grimaced.

“Ugh… This is why I stick with regular food. This is close to human stuff! It cools and it—look!” She pulled out a leftovers container. “This stuff is growing an entire colony of mold! It’ll probably build its own city next!”

Papyrus wordlessly got the trashcan.

As she started dumping all of the food into the trashcan, she grumbled, “’Don’t throw that away, Undyne! Sure it’s practically sentient, but it’s still good! Just scrape off the bad parts!’ Gerson was like that too and now he has a shop selling all of his old junk!”

When the last bit of food got dumped, Papyrus left to throw it all out. Undyne sighed and started pulling the fridge away. She stopped for a second to unplug the fridge and lifted it up. As she got to the kitchen doorway, the top of the fridge smacked against the top and the entire thing slipped out of her grip and crashed onto her foot.

Her screams echoed throughout the entire house. She kicked the fridge down and stomped on it over and over until nothing remained but a dented pile of scraps.

Papyrus rushed into the room. “UNDYNE! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!”

She shouted, “ _I’m fine! Never better! This fridge was a piece of crap anyway!_ ”

Both of them fell silent. Undyne slowly caught her breath. After a moment, Papyrus gently pulled her away from the wrecked fridge and sat her down at the table.

Tears budded in her eye. “What am I gonna do, Papyrus? I’m not ready for this.”

He could only reply with, “I DON’T KNOW….”

“Don’t tell anyone I destroyed the fridge. If they find out, they’ll think I’m—”

“NO ONE IS GOING TO THINK YOU’RE A BAD RULER.”

“This shouldn’t be happening. I shouldn’t be a ruler. I should be captain until I get so old that I send Asgore an invite to my retirement party! Instead, I get a fricken _coronation!_ ” Her voice cracked. “But did you see the line of succession? They’re all a bunch of clowns! I’m the only one with real experience. Well, aside from Toriel, but looks like she goes with responsibility just as well as water and oil!”

She finally said, “Asgore is our king. He was the one who founded the Kingdom of Monsters! He gave us hope after Asriel died! I’m not supposed to fill his shoes! I shouldn’t be ruling, but someone has to. Someone has to step up.”

Papyrus sat down next to her and hugged her. They sat there without another word.

Unbeknownst to both of them, a third person—a little phantom child—was watching. The child walked out of the house and stared upwards at nothing.

They said, “Why can’t I feel anything anymore…?”

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Ammy could feel it. Death drew near. The cave darkened even more. For this timeline, she would eventually be reborn, as she had time again before.

The pain lingered. She lied motionless with limbs weighed down like lead. This lightless cave would be the last she saw before the next life.

But a little sound… Something dug up from the cavern floor.

She could feel Flowey staring.

“Hey.”

She greeted him.

“What was the point?” he asked. “You came down here to free monsters, but look! If you had just left them alone, everyone would be a lot better off—and you wouldn’t be dying either. The most you accomplished was stopping me, but I wouldn’t have gotten those souls if it weren’t for you in the first place. So why? Why did you even try?”

Ammy didn’t respond.

“…If I reset, will you try harder?” Flowey noted, “If you just stayed with everyone a little longer, you could have been friends. If you do that, then… I’ll try too.”

She sighed at him.

“It's a deal. You better be grateful, though! I'll have to start all over just to wait for you to come back!”

She gave out a weak chuckle.

Then there was nothing.


	12. Unnecessary Tension

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something feels different.

The sun touched the golden flowers as Ammy set her feet down on the flowerbed. She sniffed the air and took in her surroundings. The air felt still and quiet. No one arrived yet.

She sat down and waited.

“Huh…?”

Chara’s form slowly appeared. They sat up from the flowers and looked around. As soon as they spotted Ammy, they rushed over and hugged her.

“Ammy!” they cried out. “Don’t ever leave like that again!”

Ammy tucked her chin over Chara’s shoulder.

When they pulled away, Chara questioned, “What happened to you? How did we get here?”

She explained.

Chara’s face slowly grew more concerned as she talked. Once she mentioned the reset, they frowned deeply in thought. “So Flowey really was the one resetting.” They calmly stated, “If you don’t play by his rules, he will kill Asgore. I find his demands rather surprising, though. Just befriend everyone?”

“Bruff,” she confirmed.

“That’s strange. Still, we have nothing else to do. It’s not as though Asriel is waiting for me at New Home.”

“Oh? Is someone there?”

Ammy and Chara turned to find Toriel approaching. She greeted Ammy with a friendly smile. “How do you do? I am Toriel, caretaker of these ruins. May I ask how you got here?”

Ammy answered with a gesture upward.

Toriel’s eyes widened. “The surface? So there are monsters who escaped the war! Why did you come here, then, if you were free? Do you not know of the barrier?”

Ammy gave her an honest answer.

She stared at the wolf with a troubled look. “…You would have had a better chance if you stayed outside the barrier. Now you are trapped here with the rest of us. Only those with a human soul can escape.”

Ammy replied with a low hum.

Toriel remained unconvinced. She motioned towards the exit and said, “In any case, I have a home just beyond here. If you wish, you may follow me there. I will serve dinner.”

Once Chara climbed atop Ammy’s back, Ammy followed Toriel into the ruins. A silence hung over them as they walked on through the stretched corridors.

“…Despite the conditions, the Ruins are a decent place for a comfortable life,” Toriel finally said. “There are still places where you can see the sunlight.”

They turned a corner and came upon cracks in the floor. Before Toriel began to speak, Ammy fixed the cracks with her paintbrush.

“Here we will have to jump—oh.” She stared at the solid floor in confusion. “I could have sworn that…. Ah, well, perhaps it was someplace else. Watch your step as you traverse these halls. The floors are unstable.”

Ammy walked forward—

“Ribbit! (Amaterasu!)”

A froggit hopped over from behind them. “Ribbit ribbit! (Are you really Amaterasu? Please! Come bless my pond!)”

Ammy tilted her head to the side and then started following. Chara, though, quickly glanced from Ammy to Toriel, who stared at Ammy in complete bewilderment. Chara thought for a second.

“Wait.” They said, “I want to go with Mother. Once you are done with… your business here, meet me at her home.”

She nodded and waited for Chara to dismount. As soon as they joined Toriel’s side, Ammy followed behind the froggit.

Back down the corridor, the froggit lead Ammy through a large crack in the wall she could barely crawl through. On the other side of the thick wall, Ammy found a round room carved out from the mountainside with a tiny pond in the center. A wall of rubble covered in overgrowth backed the pond. A trickle of water fell from the rubble and into the pond. Several froggits around the pond stopped their conversations and watched Ammy carefully.

The first froggit said, “(This is my home! Please, bless us with the warmth of the sun.)”

Ammy bowed her head low to the pond. Extra debris stuck to the bottom and the pond had a green color to it; nothing a little care couldn’t fix.

But there was a sense of listlessness—of finality—choking the water. It permeated everything and compounded the neglect. Ammy glanced up at the froggits. They looked tired.

Ammy painted over the pond with her ink, and the pond became clean and healthy. The debris cleared away, the trickle of water flowed a little stronger, and the water felt just right for the froggits. As the family of froggits marveled at the pond, she gave her blessing for their happiness.

Just before she left, she had to ask.

The froggit replied, “Ribbit? Ribbit ribbit. Ribbit! (How did I recognize you? I just had a feeling. I think I heard about you somewhere. But the sun is so warm and so pleasant, I knew you had to exist!)”

Ammy took careful note of that.

As soon as she crawled through the crack, a whimsun greeted her. “Hello. I heard you’re Amaterasu? If you are, could you bless my child with the courage to make new friends?”

Ammy asked them to lead the way.

 

* * *

   

Chara followed Toriel all the way back to her home. They slowed to a stop in the foyer and lingered. The only noises in the tiny home were of Toriel walking around the kitchen. There was a clock ticking in the living room, but there were no other sounds.

Toriel came back into the foyer with a list in one hand and a large tote bag in the other. As she left the house, she muttered, “Can dog monsters eat snails?”

The door closed.

Chara watched the door for a moment and then wandered into the living room. They glanced through the bookshelves and noticed something. They recognized some of the books, the very same ones Toriel read by the fire back when they were alive, but there weren’t any photo albums. There weren’t even any books that Toriel once read to Asriel and Chara.

They wondered….

Chara headed over to the first bedroom and looked around. While the room is clearly a child’s room, something seemed odd. The shelves were lined with books of a wide range: fairy tales, bedtime stories, teenage literature, kids’ joke books, choose-your-own adventure, light ghost stories, coloring books, comics, and a couple pop-up books. Not a single title Chara could recognize from New Home. The toys had a similar range. They found baby dolls, jacks, action figures, a deck of cards, puzzles, board games, a ball, and an old and beaten Game Boy Advance, none of which matched the toys Chara and Asriel played with.

“Why can’t I find anything that belonged to Asriel or me? Not even mementoes?” they wondered.

But maybe their things were in her room.

They hurried to Toriel’s bedroom and started searching. Although they found many things from the cactus to socks to a bucket of snails to her old collection of books, they found nothing that Chara and Asriel shared between them. There was nothing. Absolutely nothing. Nothing to remind her of them, or even Asriel.

Chara snorted. Did Toriel just want to forget them? Did she even replace her own children with humans who fell down after Chara’s death? Chara deserved to be forgotten, but not Asriel. It wasn’t fair to him. How dare she forget him!

…Yet still, even with those thoughts, Chara couldn’t bring themselves to feel angry. This _was_ unfair to Asriel, and Chara should yell and scream for Toriel to remember. But all they could muster was the same emptiness they felt after Flowey killed Asgore and Ammy.

No, Chara was just tired. Mentally exhausted. They could still feel anger.

They thought about how Toriel must have housed at least one of the humans Asgore killed. They wondered if Toriel went after those humans but then immediately dashed that thought as they remembered Asgore’s shock at Toriel being alive. Toriel didn’t stop Asgore from killing those humans. She stayed at the Ruins. What was fair about that? What about that was justice?

Again, Chara could only feel vague indifference.

They thought back to Asgore’s death and how, even for a brief moment, they felt such a mix of emotions. Despair and fury coursed through their spirit then and threatened to overtake them before it all snuffed out. They thought about how they felt and how deeply Asgore’s death shook them.

Still, Chara felt nothing.

They dug for one last memory. They called up the last time they saw Asriel.

The pain they shared, and the anger and the hurt and the confusion and how it was ~~Chara’s~~ Asriel’s fault. If ~~they~~ he just listened, if they just worked together, all of this wouldn’t have…

Nothing.

Chara sighed. What was this? There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to this emotionlessness. This was Wrong.

They wandered the house, looking at every single little thing. Not a single thing in the house stirred any reaction. They just felt emotions just a bit ago, but now they’re back to where they were after Asgore died.

The door clicked as it closed.

Chara turned and spotted Toriel heading to the kitchen with two bags filled with groceries. Her gaze was distant and she muttered, “Can dog monsters eat snails…? If only there were fish… Maybe I could… No…”

They followed her and just watched.

“A strange one,” she said to herself. She pulled out the groceries one by one and slowly put them away. “Most certainly a story for later.”

She started chopping vegetables. Her mutterings remained barely audible. “…wonder… only ones… surface trying… free…”

Chara came closer.

She paused as she was slicing a carrot. “How much… risk the humans…” Then she started tapping on the counter while in thought.

“…I must speak with them,” she concluded.

After that, she fell silent. Chara strained their ear for more, but aside from broken narration over little actions, she said nothing else. Once the pie finished baking, she set it out on the counter to cool and returned to her reading chair. As Chara slowly followed her, they felt something bubbling in their chest.

The door knocked.

“Ah. That must be…” Toriel got up and hurried to the door. By the time Chara caught up, she already let Ammy in.

“You arrived just in time,” Toriel told Ammy. “I just finished making snail pie. Is that to your liking?”

Ammy replied with a yes and set a bag of groceries at Toriel’s feet.

Toriel stared at the bag for a long moment. Then she opened it up and stared for a little longer. “…Are these… groceries? You did not need to.”

“Mwaaawww.”

Toriel picked up the grocery bag. “My goodness! I was missing some of these. How did you know?”

“Bark!”

“In any case, this is a very big help. Please, come in. Dinner is ready.”

Ammy entered the foyer, but she lingered near Chara rather than follow Toriel into the living room. She whined at Chara.

“I’m fine,” they replied.

She left it at that and joined Toriel in the living room.

Toriel entered the living room from the kitchen with two slices of pie and a pillow. She set the pillow and a pie slice next to the lit fireplace and sat down with her own slice. She stared at Ammy with a very perplexed look on her face. She opened her mouth to ask something but then shook her head.

Ammy hummed.

“You are very welcome,” Toriel said. “I do not get much company here very often. This is quite a surprise.”

Chara lied down on Ammy’s side.

“Tell me, how are monsters on the surface? Are you the only one trying to free us?”

Ammy gave a reply.

Despite herself, Toriel’s face turned downcast. “…I see. Well, know that you are safe here.” Then she said, “But I must be frank. If you freed monsters down here, how did you plan on bringing peace between monsters and humans? Our King Asgore declared war on humans. Releasing monsters unto the world would mean a death sentence for all humans.”

Ammy barked.

“Do you really believe Asgore can be talked down?”

Chara remarked, “I don’t see her talking Asgore down.”

Ammy ignored their comment and gave Toriel a reply.

“What if you cannot? Asgore only needs one more soul to break the barrier and wipe all of humanity.”

“As if she’s doing anything about it!”

“He has no qualms against murdering a child,” she stated.

Ammy took a careful bite of her pie.

Toriel stated, “If you wish to free monsters without dooming all of humanity, you have a long road ahead of you. They will stop at nothing.”

Chara said nothing and clenched Ammy’s fur in their fists.

After a moment of silence, Toriel’s face fell and she said, “I apologize. This is a very heavy subject for a meal. Please, tell me of your life on the surface.”

The two of them talked and talked about distant memories and recent happenings, about the crunch of fall leaves, the smell of rain, and the warmth of the sun. Toriel chattered about her childhood, back when the war between humans and monsters was only a vague threat. Ammy recalled people, long since gone, who came and went in her life. The clock ticked as time marched on.

“Do you have any children?”

“Bark!”

“I raised several. I miss them all dearly. They… They were…”

Not a single sound came out of the living room. Chara looked back, hoping—daring—for Toriel to mention them.

“…You must stop Asgore.”

Ammy gave her promise.

Chara uttered, “She did raise them. She really did raise them. And she didn’t chase after them!”

They stood up and shouted at Ammy, “No one in the underground saw her ever since Asriel and I died! That means she didn’t chase after those human children who died to Asgore! Tell her she’s a coward! Tell her what a hypocrite she is! Tell her she’s horrible for acting so sanctimonious when she’s just as guilty as Asgore is!”

“Is someone there?” Toriel followed Ammy’s gaze to the empty space close to the foyer. “What did you hear?”

“ME!” Chara screamed. “TELL HER IT’S ME!”

Ammy got up and excused herself.

“NO! TELL HER EVERYTHING I JUST SAID!”

She moved to the front door. Chara gave chase.

“YOU KNOW I’M RIGHT!”

After gently closing the door behind her, she escorted Chara to the barren tree and sat down. She asked them what was wrong.

Chara shot a glare at her. “Everything! Toriel and Asgore are horrible people now and only one of them seems to care!”

“Aow…”

“No! I finally get to feel something again! I’ll be as mad as I want!”

She met their eyes for a moment and then nodded.

“FINE! I’ll be as mad as I want! I’ll be mad at her for letting those humans die when she ‘claims’ to love them! She didn’t stop them! She didn’t stop me! She didn’t….” Chara choked back tears. “Why am I feeling something now? I don't understand. I felt nothing after you and Asgore died, and I didn’t feel anything while I was with Toriel. There isn’t any rhyme or reason to this!”

“I don’t get it. It’s not fair. I should feel the right things.”

Ammy nuzzled against Chara’s shoulder.

They paused, and then they said, “I don’t want to go back to that ever again. I don’t want to not feel anything ever again.”


	13. Heartache

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> * ACT  
> * Talk

Ammy got up early that morning. Her fur glistened and gently glowed in the dark. Dead leaves tumbled off her as she stood. She nudged Chara with her nose.

“What is it?” they asked.

Ammy crooned.

Chara looked down. They thought for a moment….

Finally, they shook their head. “No. Please don’t leave me.”

Ammy lied back down.

Time passed wordlessly. Plants crept out of the ground, surrounding Ammy in a soft green bed. Chara gazed out towards the Ruins with a blank expression. They wrapped their arms around their knees and let out a “Hmm.”

The front door opened. Toriel walked out with a large bag and peered around the tree. When she saw Ammy there and the new growth around her, she staggered back in shock. She took a moment to collect herself then made herself smile.

“Ah. There you are.” She said, “I am making my daily rounds. You may come, if you wish.”

Ammy replied, “Ahwww.”

“Wonderful. Let’s go now.”

Ammy got up, shook the flowers and pollen off her fur, and waited for Chara to climb on her back. As soon as Chara was secure, she walked along Toriel’s side.

The two made their way through the Ruins. Before each puzzle, Toriel flipped a switch to deactivate it and walked onward. As soon as they were out, she flipped a hidden switch that reactivated the puzzle. All of this she did as mindlessly as though she were only flipping a light switch.

Toriel said, “I recall last night you mentioned having a child, no?“

Ammy held her head with pride.

“A son? Goodness! How is he?”

Ammy talked on and on about the wolfish pup, about how stubborn he was and how many friends he made and a vague reference about what he was doing right then. During the chattering, Toriel’s smile grew into something more genuine.

“He sounds like one of the humans I adopted!” she mentioned.

Chara huffed.

“They loved to wrestle, and they would just push their way through everything. When they encountered this spike puzzle surrounded by water, they just swam their way through. They were a human, though, and I did my best to teach them to be gentler. They did not know their own strength.”

Toriel fell silent in the memories for a moment. Then her smile returned. “All of my children were blessings! I love them each dearly!”

Ammy gently pressed her head against Toriel.

Toriel stared at her for a moment. “What? Why?”

Ammy whined.

Toriel’s smile faltered. “No, I am well. I… Thank you.”

Ammy stepped away from Toriel and started talking about her grandson.

“Ninigi? That is a nice name.”

She mentioned a little quirk her grandson had when he was young. Toriel laughed.

Chara moaned. “This is getting embarrassing….”

Ammy spoke at length about Ninigi. After a while, the conversation drifted back to Toriel’s adopted children.

“One of them was very eager to protect others,” she mentioned. “Whenever there was a fight, he would try to mediate it. He always made sure everything was fair.” She chuckled. “He did not get into fights often, but when he did, he was always passionate about it.”

Chara half-heartedly asked, “Was that one of the human souls?”

“He loved playing hide-and-seek! He could play for hours! If only he got the chance to meet the others. They could have…” Toriel faltered again.

Ammy asked her about another child.

Toriel’s smile returned. “Right, right. There was another who loved to cook. They were an absolute sweetheart. They would cook as much as they could and pass out food to the monsters living here. The monsters were wary of the human child, but they never hurt anyone. Free food became their greatest ice breaker for conversation.”

“I think that… I think that maybe…” Her smile faded away. She stopped and lingered for a while. But then she shook her head and her smile returned. “Goodness! You are so easy to converse with! I could tell you my entire life’s story without pause!”

Chara questioned Ammy, “What are you trying to do?”

As they walked into another room, Toriel continued, “We do share some commonalities. We are little old women with too much time…” She then noticed her surroundings.

They both stood before the grassy cavern hole at the very end of the Ruins. A bed of golden flowers spread across the grass. The morning sunlight peeked into the cave.

She said, “My, my! Time sure does fly! I had not realized how short our walk was! Give me a moment to water these flowers.”

She dug into her bag, but then she dug a little more. Then she started thoroughly searching. Her brow furrowed deeply. “Strange. I seem to have forgotten my watering pail. I suppose I must water tonight.”

A soft pitter-patter echoed through the cave. Then a soft shower of rain fell from above, watering the golden flowers. Toriel gazed upward in shock.

“What? But… I just said… What a… What a funny coincidence….” She slowly turned towards Ammy with the same wide-eyed shock. “No. This was not a coincidence. You… Are you truly a god?”

Ammy confirmed.

“That froggit and whimsun called you ‘Amaterasu.’ Are you that same goddess from human mythology?”

Again, she confirmed this to Toriel.

“Then you truly are here to free us.” She trembled where she stood. “Why? Why do you think any of us are worthy of seeing the sun again?”

Ammy walked over to Toriel’s side and sat down. Chara slid off her back and stood by Ammy’s side as they watched.

Toriel said, “They already killed six human children. There may have been other humans who were killed but their souls shattered. They won’t stop once they reach the surface. Why do you think they should have freedom? Not even I should leave the underground.”

Chara took a couple steps closer to her. “Mom?”

She continued, “They were children under my care. I housed them, I fed them, I taught them, I _raised_ them. And yet when they ran away, the most I did was search the forest just outside. I never searched farther. Then, when the spiders whispered about the child’s fate, I wept as though I were helpless to their fate. I can’t bring myself to face the entire kingdom and Asgore again, not even to save a single innocent child.”

She turned her face away from Ammy. “I act helpless in the face of hardship. I always did. While Chara suffered from depression, I did nothing to shoulder their burden. No wonder Asriel felt he needed to bury Chara himself when they died.”

Chara’s shoulders sunk low and their face dropped into a horrified stare.

“I could tell they were suffering. I knew not what to do, so I did nothing. All I did was hope something would come along that would help me speak to them. For my negligence, I buried one child and scattered the dust of the other. And now six other children paid for my negligence.”

Ammy pressed her head against Toriel. She cooed with a low, soft tone.

Toriel finally broke down crying. She sat down before the bed of golden flowers. Tears quickly stained her white fur. “Why do you think any of us are deserving of freedom after what we have done?”

A pressure—soft yet massive and encompassing—settled in the room. Ammy pulled away from Toriel and motioned towards the flowerbed.

Toriel stared in bewilderment. Finally, she fully faced the grave. A long moment passed in silence. She took a deep breath.

“I—” She choked up from tears again. “I apologize. I just… I cannot. I cannot! I… No, let me try again.” Another deep breath. “…No, I—no. I cannot speak as though they were here.”

Chara slowly approached.

“But I know what they would want,” Toriel said. “Chara was a troubled child who loved us more than they loved themselves. Just as… Just as I wish they… I wish they had not hurt themself no matter the reason, they would not have wished for me to condemn myself. Drowning in my despair helps no one and honors no one’s memory.”

She watched the flowers. Chara sat down next to her. Their tiny frame looked exceptionally small next to Toriel’s height.

Toriel looked to Ammy. A couple tears still trailed down her face, but she kept a calmer and sterner expression. “I must stop Asgore. I waited too long to do so, and now six children are dead. If I remain steadfast, I can overcome him. However, something must be done with the six souls he now possesses. Since the barrier still stands, am I correct to assume no one absorbed the souls?”

Ammy nodded.

“Then I must decide now: Do I release them or do I use their souls to destroy the barrier? What would they have wanted? Would their death be rendered in vain if I release them? No matter what I decide, once I reach the castle, I must act with firm resolve.”

Chara whirled around to Ammy, their eyes wide and their voice frantic. “Tell her not to absorb the souls! Tell her you will take care of this!”

Ammy restated her goals.

Toriel shook her head. “So you could. If you break the barrier, no one will need the souls. Even still, I must act. I cannot remain content to hope outside forces will do what I neglected for so long. If you must go on ahead of me, grant me the chance to tend to the souls.”

Chara’s face twisted into a scowl. “Why? This isn’t her problem. It shouldn’t be her problem.”

Toriel’s face softened. She mentioned, “On my stove, there is a butterscotch-cinnamon pie. I baked it as a thank you for the groceries you gave me. I planned to surprise you as soon as I returned from my walk around the Ruins. Please, feel free to take it once you leave. I…” She stared at the flowers. “…I need to gather myself for the upcoming journey. Thank you for listening to this old lady’s troubles.”

Ammy watched Toriel for a moment then turned to Chara.

They glowered at Ammy with a trembling lip. Despite a slight shudder in their voice, they coolly said, “Let’s go to the barrier. Make your friends along the way, when you can, but you have to get there before she does.”

Ammy’s eyes narrowed. She waited for Chara to climb up on her back and started walking away.

Chara kicked at Ammy’s side. “Move! We have a time limit! We don’t want her to leave before we get to Snowdin!”

Ammy kept her slow pace.

“If you don’t hurry up, Toriel will die like Asriel and I did!”

She tilted her head towards the child.

“Then you make friends quickly! That way Flowey won’t kill Asgore and Toriel won’t absorb the souls!”

She huffed.

“No, it is not a guarantee but… GAH! Why are you being difficult?! Are you trying to teach me patience? There is a time and place for that!”

She continued walking.

They glared at her. “…Fine. I can sulk longer than you.”

The trip back to Toriel’s home dragged on for what Chara felt was forever. Although Ammy didn’t tend to everything, she spoke with different monsters that approached. She listened to a loox weep about bullying problems, she bought spider cider and spider donuts and shared them with a moldessa and migospel, and she escorted a moldsmal home. She found Napstablook while she escorted the moldsmal home, but he quickly faded away, muttering that he “didn’t want to bother them.”

When they finally arrived at Toriel’s home, Ammy found a butterscotch-pie in the kitchen like Toriel promised. She tucked it away with the leftover spider cider and donuts.

Chara snapped, “I bet Toriel is about to enter the house any second.”

Ammy grumbled and stormed to the front of the house. She stood there at the doorway with the door wide open. Minutes passed. Toriel never appeared.

Chara uttered, “She didn’t leave right away? She wanted to think more?”

Ammy nodded.

“Does this mean she will just think forever?”

She shook her head.

After a moment, Chara said, “I apologize. I panicked. We still have time before she leaves.”

She nodded her head and gently closed the door.

As Ammy made her way downstairs, Chara said, “This means we have more time to hang out with Papyrus. Do you think he’ll have more colors of paint at his own house?”


End file.
